Last week I found out that I would be leaving Mandeville early and moving to Kingston for my remaining time in Jamaica. The last week has been very difficult for me as I've had to say goodbye to some people and places that I've come to love dearly.
I have spent the last few days taking in all of the sights in Mandeville that I never took the time to appreciate. I'm going to miss the beautiful green mountains that surround the area. I'm going to miss walking down Manchester road with Danae, working our way through the crowd of Jamaicans trying to get our attention and sending every cat call in creation at us. I'm going to miss Mandeville Market, where we go almost daily to get all kinds of fresh produce. We go so often that the vendors know who we are and know exactly what we have purchased from them in the past. I'm going to miss having access to fresh fruits and veggies whenever I want them.
Yesterday I said goodbye to Knockpatrick school for the Deaf. The principal and the teachers there were sad to see me go. I said goodbye to the missionary families that work there and have been watching out for us since we arrived. We visit their house once a week for a home cooked meal and play with their three adorable children. The worst part was leaving to the kids I have come to love so dearly. They all hold a place in my heart and they will forever. There is little Paris, with one brown eye and one shockingly blue. There's Kyle, who runs up to me every time he sees me and signs "friend." Damion, the little rascal who's always trying to play tricks on me. Britannia, the hyperactive nine year old who is constantly vying for my attention. Seneca, who doesn't have a lot of language and is perfectly content to sit next to us before she gets in line for lunch every day. And, last but not least, four year old Nikayla who I have spent the most one-on-one time with. She doesn't have a lot of language either, but she is so eager to learn to communicate in sign. She will point to things and when I show her a sign, she looks at me and does her best to copy the sign exactly as I signed it. Every time she sees me her face lights up. She loves hiding behind anything or anyone she can, just so she can pop back out and smile at me again.
I have made friends with some wonderful people in Mandeville. Friday night they all came in and we enjoyed a last night out together before I left. It was a great way to end my time here but it was tough knowing I wouldn't be seeing them again. Last night, Danae, Ewan and I made an enormous Jamaican style Thanksgiving feast for my last night in Mandeville. We made roast breadfruit, bammy and pear (avocado), chicken, fried plantains, festival, complete with bag juice to drink.
This morning I woke up and packed everything to head to Kingston in a few hours. Today I say goodbye to the apartment and the town I have come to love living in. I say goodbye to Danae who has become one of the best friends I could ever ask for. I'll look forward to reuniting with her in Montego Bay at the end of service. I say goodbye to friends I'll never forget. I hope that my time in Kingston goes well, but I'm more than ready to head home and spend some time with my family.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Negril: Round Two
Last Saturday, Danae and I went to Negril with our friends. We checked into the place we were staying, a yoga center not far from the beach. We all decided we didn't want to waste any time and headed straight down to the water. The weather was perfect and the water was so clear and beautiful, we couldn't have asked for a better day. We started off by having a practice snorkel session, which was totally pointless because it was Negril's Seven Mile beach, meaning all we saw was white sand. It was still fun though and I was happy for a chance to practice snorkeling without having poisonous and deadly creatures surrounding me. After that, we went for a walk up the beach and spent the next few hours walking a few steps and then stopping to take pictures as the sun set over the water.
The next morning, bright and early, we headed down to the beach to meet the man who offered to take us out to the reef in his glass bottom boat. The boat ride was about twenty minutes. It was quite the sight, because all 8 of us were sitting around the glass looking down at the ocean floor. We arrived at the reef and I started to panic as I remembered Brittany's incident with the sea urchin. However, I wasn't about to miss such a wonderful opportunity and swallowed my fear as I put on my snorkel and flippers and jumped over the side of the boat.
There was a school of fish right beside the boat, and I squealed and swam away as quickly as possible. I was nervous but the reef was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Sign language came in handy as we explored. We would point at different things and sign or fingerspell to each other, making things much easier for us! We saw many different kind of fish, jelly fish, and sting rays.
As I got more comfortable, I realized that I could have spent all day exploring the reef. However, it was time to head back to the boat. When I approached the boat, I ran into the same school of fish that was there when I jumped in. This time, I wasn't scared and I let them all swim up to me, touching my arms and legs. I took one last look at everything around me and everything felt completely surreal. Sometimes Danae and I still have a hard time believing we're in Jamaica!
When we reached the shore, it started to pour. Danae and I took one look at each other and decided to jump in the water and swim in the rain. One by one the guys followed us and next thing we knew we were all swimming and splashing around in a torrential downpour. It couldn't have been a better weekend :D
Love and miss you all,
Linds
The next morning, bright and early, we headed down to the beach to meet the man who offered to take us out to the reef in his glass bottom boat. The boat ride was about twenty minutes. It was quite the sight, because all 8 of us were sitting around the glass looking down at the ocean floor. We arrived at the reef and I started to panic as I remembered Brittany's incident with the sea urchin. However, I wasn't about to miss such a wonderful opportunity and swallowed my fear as I put on my snorkel and flippers and jumped over the side of the boat.
There was a school of fish right beside the boat, and I squealed and swam away as quickly as possible. I was nervous but the reef was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Sign language came in handy as we explored. We would point at different things and sign or fingerspell to each other, making things much easier for us! We saw many different kind of fish, jelly fish, and sting rays.
As I got more comfortable, I realized that I could have spent all day exploring the reef. However, it was time to head back to the boat. When I approached the boat, I ran into the same school of fish that was there when I jumped in. This time, I wasn't scared and I let them all swim up to me, touching my arms and legs. I took one last look at everything around me and everything felt completely surreal. Sometimes Danae and I still have a hard time believing we're in Jamaica!
When we reached the shore, it started to pour. Danae and I took one look at each other and decided to jump in the water and swim in the rain. One by one the guys followed us and next thing we knew we were all swimming and splashing around in a torrential downpour. It couldn't have been a better weekend :D
Love and miss you all,
Linds
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Service Begins
Last week, Danae and I started our service assignment at Knockpatrick School for the Deaf. We are very excited to be there and love working with the children. They are so much fun and are all so excited to see us every day. They all stand around us and ask us our names, our name signs, and then tell us theirs. It's so hard to remember all of their name signs! So far, we have been teaching about one class a day. We were really hoping for more one-on-one interaction with the kids, but there isn't much that can be done about that. Lately we've spent most of our free time cutting construction paper to create a new bullitin board in the school. We enjoy staying at Knockpatrick after school lets out and socializing with the kids. They dance and play and are eager to show us their dance moves.
We live in Josh and Rachel's old apartment, since they have moved to Kingston. We love it there. We are disappointed that we're missing out on the time to socialize with the kids and the teachers at the school, but it's nice to be able to retreat back to our place for some peace and quiet. It has been interesting though. I spent the last six weeks being spoiled my Mrs. Robertson's delicious Jamaican cooking, and now I'm eating pasta and pb&j sandwiches every day.
It's hard to believe that October is almost over. It's hard to imagine that it's cooling off at home and the leaves have fallen! It feels like summer here, so I can't help thinking it's summer time. The weeks are flying by and I'm sad that my time in Jamaica is coming to an end. This weekend, Danae and I are heading to Negril with some of our friends. Not sure if I'll jump off the high cliff again or not!
Love and miss you all,
Lindsay
We live in Josh and Rachel's old apartment, since they have moved to Kingston. We love it there. We are disappointed that we're missing out on the time to socialize with the kids and the teachers at the school, but it's nice to be able to retreat back to our place for some peace and quiet. It has been interesting though. I spent the last six weeks being spoiled my Mrs. Robertson's delicious Jamaican cooking, and now I'm eating pasta and pb&j sandwiches every day.
It's hard to believe that October is almost over. It's hard to imagine that it's cooling off at home and the leaves have fallen! It feels like summer here, so I can't help thinking it's summer time. The weeks are flying by and I'm sad that my time in Jamaica is coming to an end. This weekend, Danae and I are heading to Negril with some of our friends. Not sure if I'll jump off the high cliff again or not!
Love and miss you all,
Lindsay
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
End of study/start of service
Wow, time flies. It's been over two weeks since I last updated. It's been a very busy two weeks. We wrapped up our regular SST classes and our interpreting class and focused on learning Jamaican Sign Language so we would all be ready (or at least better prepared) to enter the Deaf schools.
We didn't have any field trips the last two weeks of study, instead we spent our free Wednesday's at the Garrett's house, or "Goshen house." We had to spend some of that time catching up on homework, but we didn't mind.
Friday night, we had our host family thank you party. Mrs. Robertson, our host mom, and Miss Hanna, our local coordinator, prepared the food. They made chicken, rice and peas, cheesy scalloped potatoes, sweet and sour fish, and salad. We also had a wide variety of desserts to indulge in :). It was an amazing last homecooked meal before we head out to the Deaf schools and miss out on all the good food. We enjoyed socializing with our host families, drivers, guest lecturers, teachers, and all the people who have helped us out since we got here. When we were done eating, we performed a few skits and signed a thank you song for our families. Our skits were focused on differences between American and Jamaican culture. Some of the skits were Jamaican driving, college classrooms, cat calls, and rain. The party wrapped up with picture taking and goodbyes. It was bittersweet. We are definitely going to miss our host family, our bedroom at their house, and Mrs. Robertson's delicious cooking.
This weekend, Kayla, Danae, and I decided to make the trek to Ocho Rios for Heroes Day weekend. We were a bit worried about making the trek alone, three white girls travelling in route taxis on Heroes weekend sounded a bit scary. We had to take a total 4 taxis to get to our destination, where we met some of our friends. We only had one minor setback, which was a Rasta man trying to steal me while Kayla and Danae watched and laughed at me. It was interesting.
We arrived in Ochie excited to hit the beach. We couldn't believe that the apartment we would be staying at was just a short walk from the villa we stayed at when we first arrived here. We went down to the beach and immediately got in the water. Later that night we went into town to get some food. We went back to the apartment and were too tired to go out, so we just went to sleep. There were nine people there and only one bed, so some of us ended up on the tiles on the kitchen floor. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep!
Sunday we went straight to the beach and stayed there for hours. The weather was perfect, we couldn't have had a better day at the beach. Later that night, after walking around town a bit, we decided to head back to the apartment and just hang out there. It was a great time, and luckily that night I got a spot on the bed. We were sad to leave Ochie and the beach but we had to head back. We made the trek back to Mandeville yesterday and were happy to be able to settle into our new apartment.
Josh and his family moved to Kingston, so Danae and I have been fortunate enough to be able to move into his former apartment. We will be taking a taxi into Knockpatrick every day when we start working at the Deaf school tomorrow. MY MAILING ADDRESS WILL BE THE SAME, so no worries there. Kayla and Carrie are staying with us until they head to Montego Bay in on Thursday or Friday. We are sad to be separating from the group, but look forward to working with the children.
Love and miss you all,
Lindsay
We didn't have any field trips the last two weeks of study, instead we spent our free Wednesday's at the Garrett's house, or "Goshen house." We had to spend some of that time catching up on homework, but we didn't mind.
Friday night, we had our host family thank you party. Mrs. Robertson, our host mom, and Miss Hanna, our local coordinator, prepared the food. They made chicken, rice and peas, cheesy scalloped potatoes, sweet and sour fish, and salad. We also had a wide variety of desserts to indulge in :). It was an amazing last homecooked meal before we head out to the Deaf schools and miss out on all the good food. We enjoyed socializing with our host families, drivers, guest lecturers, teachers, and all the people who have helped us out since we got here. When we were done eating, we performed a few skits and signed a thank you song for our families. Our skits were focused on differences between American and Jamaican culture. Some of the skits were Jamaican driving, college classrooms, cat calls, and rain. The party wrapped up with picture taking and goodbyes. It was bittersweet. We are definitely going to miss our host family, our bedroom at their house, and Mrs. Robertson's delicious cooking.
This weekend, Kayla, Danae, and I decided to make the trek to Ocho Rios for Heroes Day weekend. We were a bit worried about making the trek alone, three white girls travelling in route taxis on Heroes weekend sounded a bit scary. We had to take a total 4 taxis to get to our destination, where we met some of our friends. We only had one minor setback, which was a Rasta man trying to steal me while Kayla and Danae watched and laughed at me. It was interesting.
We arrived in Ochie excited to hit the beach. We couldn't believe that the apartment we would be staying at was just a short walk from the villa we stayed at when we first arrived here. We went down to the beach and immediately got in the water. Later that night we went into town to get some food. We went back to the apartment and were too tired to go out, so we just went to sleep. There were nine people there and only one bed, so some of us ended up on the tiles on the kitchen floor. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep!
Sunday we went straight to the beach and stayed there for hours. The weather was perfect, we couldn't have had a better day at the beach. Later that night, after walking around town a bit, we decided to head back to the apartment and just hang out there. It was a great time, and luckily that night I got a spot on the bed. We were sad to leave Ochie and the beach but we had to head back. We made the trek back to Mandeville yesterday and were happy to be able to settle into our new apartment.
Josh and his family moved to Kingston, so Danae and I have been fortunate enough to be able to move into his former apartment. We will be taking a taxi into Knockpatrick every day when we start working at the Deaf school tomorrow. MY MAILING ADDRESS WILL BE THE SAME, so no worries there. Kayla and Carrie are staying with us until they head to Montego Bay in on Thursday or Friday. We are sad to be separating from the group, but look forward to working with the children.
Love and miss you all,
Lindsay
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Kingston
Thursday morning we met in the shopping center and headed off to Kingston. The ride there wasn't too bad, but most of our Ipods were dead because of the lack of power the last few days, so we just had to make do. Mandeville was still without power from the storm, but we were happy to find that the convent we were staying at in Kingston had power. We dropped our stuff off and headed out in hopes of adventure.
However, one thing we learned was that when it storms like that, everything shuts down. Many of the things we had planned to do on Thursday were closed, so we had to improvise. Our first stop was Devon House, the home of a Jamaican millionaire. We toured the house and then headed out to the shops on the property for some Devon house ice cream. It was delicious. :) After that we went to Emancipation Park which is famous for the large statue of a man and a woman standing in the nude rising out of the water, symbolizing their rise to freedom. Let's just say the large body part on the man has earned the park another name as well...Unfortunately it started pouring just as some of the members of the group started a jog around the park. We headed of to TGI Friday's for some American food, and then headed back to the convent to relax.
Friday was the first day of October, and none of us could believe how quickly September flew by. We were supposed to meet with JAD-Jamaican Association of the Deaf, but it was canceled because of the rain, even though it really didn't rain that day. We headed into the city and attemped to go to a zoo and gardens, but they were closed because there was so much damage from the storm. We were able to go to the home of the late great Bob Marley. We toured his home and grounds and learned a lot about him that most of us didn't know.
After that we met with J-FLAG, an underground organization for gays and lesbians, since the act of sodomy is illegal in Jamaica. We met with a panel of gay people, both hearing and deaf, and listened to the stories of their struggles living in a homophobic society. We met some very interesting people, along a boy who calls himself Miley Cyrus. After that we went to Half Way Tree and did some shopping for a few hours, then headed back to the convent.
Saturday was a wonderful day. We woke up early and headed out to Lime Cay. We parked our bus and had to take a 15 minute boat ride to the island, which is only about the size of a football field. We were all ready and excited to snorkel, and we wanted to get started right away in case it rained. We hopped in the water, but unfortunately, as we expected, the water was too murky from the storms to see anything good. All we saw was a large school of tiny fish and some sea weed. The best part of the snorkeling was the current. We literally didn't have to swim at all, we could just float and the current would carry us down the coast of the island, where we eventually got out. We only went once and then had to find other ways to entertain ourselves.
Kayla, Carrie, and I walked to the other side of the island and found a secluded place to sunbathe in the surf. We definitely enjoyed the experience. :) Eventually, we started to notice the ominous storm clouds that were quickly approaching. We called for our boat to pick us up, but it was too late. We knew we were in for a wet ride. Not long after we got in, the skies opened up and we were getting pelted in the face by huge rain drops. We were soaking wet, but instead of being miserable we all went crazy yelling and singing and laughing. It wasw a wonderful experience :)
We went back to the convent and took showers and got ready for some nightlife. The girls all enjoyed getting ready together, doing each other's hair and makeup. We started off by going to a food court that had nice restaurants for supper. Half of us had Italian and the other half had sushi. It was a nice, relaxing dinner and we felt like we were in the states again for a short time :)
After we ate we headed to Little Theater for an Ashe performance. Ashe is a group that uses music, dance, and drama to teach high schoolers about safe sex and HIV/AIDs. It was quite educational. The second half was more just a free for all song and dance kind of thing, and we all really enjoyed some of the traditional African dances to the drums.
Next, it was time to head to Club Fiction for some nightlife. We got there extremely early so there was literally no one there. After a bit a few of us started dancing, and next thing we knew the entire group, including Josh, Rachel, and the more reserved members of the group, were dancing. Eventually the music got better, more people showed up, and we all had a great time. I enjoyed showing some of the others some dance moves. My favorite pupil was Laura, one of our most reserved SSTers. :)
The next morning we woke up really early for Deaf church, and ended up getting there over an hour before the service actually started. We were all tired and grouchy, but enjoyed the service...at least until a hearing woman who literally cannot sign attempted to deliver a sermon. After church, we all enjoyed socializing with the members of the church. They were all very friendly and wanted to get to know us. After church, we headed back to the convent for naps, and then to T.J. and Christa's house (friends of Josh and Rachel) for a delicious Amerian meal!
We hadn't planned on staying until Monday, but since we missed out on JAD, we decided to stay and meet with them on Monday. We had a meeting with some of the people that work there, both hearing and deaf, and were able to ask them questions and learned about what they do for the Deaf community. We then toured the JAD facility and then had the opportunity to tour the JAD schools and socialize with the Deaf children. They were all very eager to know who we are and had plenty of hugs to go around.
After that, we went to pricemart, like Sam's club, and stocked up on food to take to service with us. We learned that Kayla will be going to Mo Bay with Sarah, and I'm going to Knockpatrick, either alone or with two other people. We will keep you updated as we find out more information!
Love and miss you all,
Linds and Kayla
However, one thing we learned was that when it storms like that, everything shuts down. Many of the things we had planned to do on Thursday were closed, so we had to improvise. Our first stop was Devon House, the home of a Jamaican millionaire. We toured the house and then headed out to the shops on the property for some Devon house ice cream. It was delicious. :) After that we went to Emancipation Park which is famous for the large statue of a man and a woman standing in the nude rising out of the water, symbolizing their rise to freedom. Let's just say the large body part on the man has earned the park another name as well...Unfortunately it started pouring just as some of the members of the group started a jog around the park. We headed of to TGI Friday's for some American food, and then headed back to the convent to relax.
Friday was the first day of October, and none of us could believe how quickly September flew by. We were supposed to meet with JAD-Jamaican Association of the Deaf, but it was canceled because of the rain, even though it really didn't rain that day. We headed into the city and attemped to go to a zoo and gardens, but they were closed because there was so much damage from the storm. We were able to go to the home of the late great Bob Marley. We toured his home and grounds and learned a lot about him that most of us didn't know.
After that we met with J-FLAG, an underground organization for gays and lesbians, since the act of sodomy is illegal in Jamaica. We met with a panel of gay people, both hearing and deaf, and listened to the stories of their struggles living in a homophobic society. We met some very interesting people, along a boy who calls himself Miley Cyrus. After that we went to Half Way Tree and did some shopping for a few hours, then headed back to the convent.
Saturday was a wonderful day. We woke up early and headed out to Lime Cay. We parked our bus and had to take a 15 minute boat ride to the island, which is only about the size of a football field. We were all ready and excited to snorkel, and we wanted to get started right away in case it rained. We hopped in the water, but unfortunately, as we expected, the water was too murky from the storms to see anything good. All we saw was a large school of tiny fish and some sea weed. The best part of the snorkeling was the current. We literally didn't have to swim at all, we could just float and the current would carry us down the coast of the island, where we eventually got out. We only went once and then had to find other ways to entertain ourselves.
Kayla, Carrie, and I walked to the other side of the island and found a secluded place to sunbathe in the surf. We definitely enjoyed the experience. :) Eventually, we started to notice the ominous storm clouds that were quickly approaching. We called for our boat to pick us up, but it was too late. We knew we were in for a wet ride. Not long after we got in, the skies opened up and we were getting pelted in the face by huge rain drops. We were soaking wet, but instead of being miserable we all went crazy yelling and singing and laughing. It wasw a wonderful experience :)
We went back to the convent and took showers and got ready for some nightlife. The girls all enjoyed getting ready together, doing each other's hair and makeup. We started off by going to a food court that had nice restaurants for supper. Half of us had Italian and the other half had sushi. It was a nice, relaxing dinner and we felt like we were in the states again for a short time :)
After we ate we headed to Little Theater for an Ashe performance. Ashe is a group that uses music, dance, and drama to teach high schoolers about safe sex and HIV/AIDs. It was quite educational. The second half was more just a free for all song and dance kind of thing, and we all really enjoyed some of the traditional African dances to the drums.
Next, it was time to head to Club Fiction for some nightlife. We got there extremely early so there was literally no one there. After a bit a few of us started dancing, and next thing we knew the entire group, including Josh, Rachel, and the more reserved members of the group, were dancing. Eventually the music got better, more people showed up, and we all had a great time. I enjoyed showing some of the others some dance moves. My favorite pupil was Laura, one of our most reserved SSTers. :)
The next morning we woke up really early for Deaf church, and ended up getting there over an hour before the service actually started. We were all tired and grouchy, but enjoyed the service...at least until a hearing woman who literally cannot sign attempted to deliver a sermon. After church, we all enjoyed socializing with the members of the church. They were all very friendly and wanted to get to know us. After church, we headed back to the convent for naps, and then to T.J. and Christa's house (friends of Josh and Rachel) for a delicious Amerian meal!
We hadn't planned on staying until Monday, but since we missed out on JAD, we decided to stay and meet with them on Monday. We had a meeting with some of the people that work there, both hearing and deaf, and were able to ask them questions and learned about what they do for the Deaf community. We then toured the JAD facility and then had the opportunity to tour the JAD schools and socialize with the Deaf children. They were all very eager to know who we are and had plenty of hugs to go around.
After that, we went to pricemart, like Sam's club, and stocked up on food to take to service with us. We learned that Kayla will be going to Mo Bay with Sarah, and I'm going to Knockpatrick, either alone or with two other people. We will keep you updated as we find out more information!
Love and miss you all,
Linds and Kayla
Friday, October 1, 2010
Tropical Storm Nicole
Tropical Storm Nicole
The next day, the rain let up for a little bit, but the power was out, so class was canceled. We'd planned to go to the market and have a "Goshen Day" where we all go up to Josh's and relax, contact home, eat a delicious meal prepared by Rachel, and hopefully work on some interpreting. We planned on celebrating the birthdays of Brittany and Gary, our driver, so we were all disappointed about missing out on cake.
Since the rain had stopped, Kayla and I decided to head into Mandeville. Everything was fine until later that evening, when the rain picked up again. The streets were flooded and some of the roads even turned into rivers, the water was rushing down so quickly. Many of the streets were impassable and taxis weren't running to and from Mandeville. We finally made it home safe and spent time with our family in the candlelit house.
We had no power and the cell phone had no service, so we had no idea of the amount of damage caused by the storm. The whole island suffered from the flooding and wind damage, and over 100,000 people were left without power. Six people died and there are still about 16 people missing that are presumed to be dead.
Now that we are in Kingston, we have power, and have been able to contact our families and watch the news. We saw that many places on the East coast are being hit by the same storm system that hit us a few days ago. We are praying for those who are suffering from the effects of the storm. We are told that more storms are heading our way, so pray for our safety as well.
So far Kingston has been an interesting experience, as many of the places we'd planned to go have been closed due to the storm.
Love and miss you all,
Lindsay and Kayla
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Catching up
Wow, we've been so busy I haven't had a chance to update!
On Wednesday we took a field trip to Appleton Estate. We arrived and were each given a taste of Jamaican Rum punch, one of the most popular drinks here. The locals all say that it's very strong and will knock you out, and I believe them. It was really strong! We watched a video about how rum is made and were then given a tour of the factory. We saw ways that rum was made in the past, and a few of us even did the work that donkeys used to do to extract the juice from the sugar cane. After that we toured the distillery where it is made today and saw the store room where the rum is kept in oak barrels to age. After the tour, we were turned loose in a little pub with 8 different types of rum to sample. We were told that we could have as much as we wanted, and to call the bartender if we ran out of one type so he could restock it for us. Of course, we didn't go too crazy, but we enjoyed sampling some of Appleton's best rum.
After that, we headed to YS Falls. It had been raining quite a bit, so the water was too heavy to swim in. We still enjoyed swimming in a spring fed pool. The water was ice cold but it was so crisp and clean that we didn't care. Some of the other students went on a zipline over the falls, and said it was an amazing experience.
Thursday night we went to a local "club" to watch Mark Stephenson, one of our local presenters, play reggae violin on stage. It might sound weird, but he is a wonderful musician and very fun to watch. We all enjoyed the experience of local nightlife and had a great time dancing.
Yesterday we took a trip to Knockpatrick School for the Deaf. We had a tour of the facilities and then took some time to play and interact with the kids. There are children that are very young all the way up to around 20. We enjoyed playing with the kids and they loved having us there. It was also quite sad for us to get our first look at how deaf people are treated here. There is a huge lack of qualified teachers here and the because of this, their education suffers greatly. We all look forward to moving to the Deaf schools and doing what we can to make a difference in the lives of these children.
We love and miss you all,
Lindsay and Kayla
On Wednesday we took a field trip to Appleton Estate. We arrived and were each given a taste of Jamaican Rum punch, one of the most popular drinks here. The locals all say that it's very strong and will knock you out, and I believe them. It was really strong! We watched a video about how rum is made and were then given a tour of the factory. We saw ways that rum was made in the past, and a few of us even did the work that donkeys used to do to extract the juice from the sugar cane. After that we toured the distillery where it is made today and saw the store room where the rum is kept in oak barrels to age. After the tour, we were turned loose in a little pub with 8 different types of rum to sample. We were told that we could have as much as we wanted, and to call the bartender if we ran out of one type so he could restock it for us. Of course, we didn't go too crazy, but we enjoyed sampling some of Appleton's best rum.
After that, we headed to YS Falls. It had been raining quite a bit, so the water was too heavy to swim in. We still enjoyed swimming in a spring fed pool. The water was ice cold but it was so crisp and clean that we didn't care. Some of the other students went on a zipline over the falls, and said it was an amazing experience.
Thursday night we went to a local "club" to watch Mark Stephenson, one of our local presenters, play reggae violin on stage. It might sound weird, but he is a wonderful musician and very fun to watch. We all enjoyed the experience of local nightlife and had a great time dancing.
Yesterday we took a trip to Knockpatrick School for the Deaf. We had a tour of the facilities and then took some time to play and interact with the kids. There are children that are very young all the way up to around 20. We enjoyed playing with the kids and they loved having us there. It was also quite sad for us to get our first look at how deaf people are treated here. There is a huge lack of qualified teachers here and the because of this, their education suffers greatly. We all look forward to moving to the Deaf schools and doing what we can to make a difference in the lives of these children.
We love and miss you all,
Lindsay and Kayla
Monday, September 20, 2010
Negril
Saturday was the most amazing day we've had yet. We met downtown early Saturday morning and hopped on a bus to Negril, which is located on the Westernmost part of the island. We stopped at a place called Bamboo alley. It's a 3 mile stretch of road that has bamboo growing on both sides, and in many places it has grown into a canopy over the road. Our next stop was at this tiny shack on the side of the road. Josh said that this place was known for the best shrimp around, and he'd even read about it in some of his travel books. We started off by having Gary, Josh's driver, show us the "Jamaican way" to eat the shrimp. He literally ate the entire shrimp: shell, legs, antennae, eyes, etc. A few of the braver students ate the shell, and eventually Kayla, Sarah, and Naomi decided to try it as well, and proceded to eat the heads of their shrimp. I refused to eat it until Gary finally peeled back the shell for me to try the meat. I must say, it was delicious.
We got to Negril and went to a place called Rick's Cafe, and immediately knew we wanted to stay all day. We looked over the edge of the cliffs and saw the most beautiful, clear blue water. We sat down to eat but were all excited to get in the water. Josh and some of the brave students went all out and had their first jump off the highest cliff. The rest of us tried off the short cliff, which was about 15 feet. At first, I wouldn't even do that. Finally, I jumped in and realized how much fun it was, and ended up jumping until I was too tired to jump anymore.
We were all tired so we decided to sit and watch the local divers. They stand on the far side of the cliffs and yell at the crowds and try to get tips from the tourist, and when they have enough, they do really cool jumps and dives into the water. At one point, one of the locals was hyping the crowd up but he was taking forever to jump, so I yelled at him in my newly developed Jamaican accent "G'waan do yo' ting! Go inna di wata!" He looked over and was shocked to see a "whitie" yelling in Patois. A few minutes later, I yelled at the Rastafarian looking man next to him, "Eh Rasta man! G'waan in di wata!" The whole group laughed and the Rasta man yelled "Gyel you crazy!" And the diver yelled that he would buy me anything I wanted later. (Of course, I didn't take him up on that). We all got some good laughs out of the interaction though, and eventually they did a "suicide jump." They had a young boy do a hand stand on the edge of the cliff and 5 or 6 guys jumped and flipped over him into the water, and eventually the boy dove in after them. It was very entertaining.
At sunset, we all garthered around and watched the sun go down. It was the most beautiful sunset most of us had ever seen, and we literally took hundreds of photos.
After that, Kayla and I went back over to watch the divers. The diver I was yelling at earlier saw me and told me to jump in from the 40 foot cliff (it's not the highest, the next highest is about 50 feet). I jokingly said that I would do it if he did it with me. In an instant, he climbed around the edge of the cliff and was standing next to me. Josh and the rest of the group saw what was going on and started cheering for me and had their cameras out, ready to make a video. I almost chickened out, but Josh started yelling "Lindsay! Lindsay!" and the others joined in. I knew I had to put my money where my mouth was. The diver told me what to do, grabbed my hand, counted to three, and we jumped! As soon as I hit the water I realized how incredible it was, and wanted to do it again! I surfaced and looked up at the cliff towering above me. I saw Josh, still recording and cheering for me. I heard Kayla yell, "Lindsay, you're my hero!" She couldn't believe I went from being scared to jump off the low cliff to hurling myself into the water from a 40 foot cliff. I'll never forget that.
I got out of the water and immediately pursuaded Brittany to jump with me (she hadn't jumped yet). She was scared, but we jumped together and when we surfaced I told her to look at where we were. We were swimming in the Caribbean at sunset. I've never seen anything more beautiful. We didn't want to get out of the water but we had to head back to Mandeville.
Negril was one adventure we'll never forget.
We love and miss you all,
Lindsay and Kayla
We got to Negril and went to a place called Rick's Cafe, and immediately knew we wanted to stay all day. We looked over the edge of the cliffs and saw the most beautiful, clear blue water. We sat down to eat but were all excited to get in the water. Josh and some of the brave students went all out and had their first jump off the highest cliff. The rest of us tried off the short cliff, which was about 15 feet. At first, I wouldn't even do that. Finally, I jumped in and realized how much fun it was, and ended up jumping until I was too tired to jump anymore.
We were all tired so we decided to sit and watch the local divers. They stand on the far side of the cliffs and yell at the crowds and try to get tips from the tourist, and when they have enough, they do really cool jumps and dives into the water. At one point, one of the locals was hyping the crowd up but he was taking forever to jump, so I yelled at him in my newly developed Jamaican accent "G'waan do yo' ting! Go inna di wata!" He looked over and was shocked to see a "whitie" yelling in Patois. A few minutes later, I yelled at the Rastafarian looking man next to him, "Eh Rasta man! G'waan in di wata!" The whole group laughed and the Rasta man yelled "Gyel you crazy!" And the diver yelled that he would buy me anything I wanted later. (Of course, I didn't take him up on that). We all got some good laughs out of the interaction though, and eventually they did a "suicide jump." They had a young boy do a hand stand on the edge of the cliff and 5 or 6 guys jumped and flipped over him into the water, and eventually the boy dove in after them. It was very entertaining.
At sunset, we all garthered around and watched the sun go down. It was the most beautiful sunset most of us had ever seen, and we literally took hundreds of photos.
After that, Kayla and I went back over to watch the divers. The diver I was yelling at earlier saw me and told me to jump in from the 40 foot cliff (it's not the highest, the next highest is about 50 feet). I jokingly said that I would do it if he did it with me. In an instant, he climbed around the edge of the cliff and was standing next to me. Josh and the rest of the group saw what was going on and started cheering for me and had their cameras out, ready to make a video. I almost chickened out, but Josh started yelling "Lindsay! Lindsay!" and the others joined in. I knew I had to put my money where my mouth was. The diver told me what to do, grabbed my hand, counted to three, and we jumped! As soon as I hit the water I realized how incredible it was, and wanted to do it again! I surfaced and looked up at the cliff towering above me. I saw Josh, still recording and cheering for me. I heard Kayla yell, "Lindsay, you're my hero!" She couldn't believe I went from being scared to jump off the low cliff to hurling myself into the water from a 40 foot cliff. I'll never forget that.
I got out of the water and immediately pursuaded Brittany to jump with me (she hadn't jumped yet). She was scared, but we jumped together and when we surfaced I told her to look at where we were. We were swimming in the Caribbean at sunset. I've never seen anything more beautiful. We didn't want to get out of the water but we had to head back to Mandeville.
Negril was one adventure we'll never forget.
We love and miss you all,
Lindsay and Kayla
Monday, September 13, 2010
Drowning in homework and rain
Hello all!
Just wanted to let you know that if you are sending mail to us, keep a few things in mind:
Letters typically take about 9 days to get here. Packages will most likely take longer, so please keep them small so it's less hassle (we are told the mail system here isn't the greatest). Once we move to the Deaf schools we will give you our new address and you can send us mail there.
Kayla broke down and took out her braids today. Let me just say, it gets itchy after awhile! I'm still wearing mine, and of course, tapping my "weave!" I'm not ready to lose my status as a "brownie."
We've been drowning in rain the past few days, and it's supposed to stay that way for the next few days with the large storm systems that are heading our way. September is the most threatening month of hurricane season here!
Sorry this is such a short update, homework is beckoning!
Linds and Kayla
Just wanted to let you know that if you are sending mail to us, keep a few things in mind:
Letters typically take about 9 days to get here. Packages will most likely take longer, so please keep them small so it's less hassle (we are told the mail system here isn't the greatest). Once we move to the Deaf schools we will give you our new address and you can send us mail there.
Kayla broke down and took out her braids today. Let me just say, it gets itchy after awhile! I'm still wearing mine, and of course, tapping my "weave!" I'm not ready to lose my status as a "brownie."
We've been drowning in rain the past few days, and it's supposed to stay that way for the next few days with the large storm systems that are heading our way. September is the most threatening month of hurricane season here!
Sorry this is such a short update, homework is beckoning!
Linds and Kayla
Friday, September 10, 2010
From whities to brownies
The past few days have been busy. Class is in full swing, and we are buried in homework. We are happy to have started our first interpreting class, and look forward to having Josh as our teacher for the first time. Despite the busy schedule, we have managed to sneak in an adventure or two.
Yesterday after class Kayla and I went to the salon where our host mom gets her hair done, and we each got our hair braided. It took about 3 hours for them to braid both of our hair. It's amazing how quickly they can braid! It cost us $500 each to get it done (don't panic! that's only about $6 American!) We enjoyed talking with the locals and learning more about the area. I personally think I look like an Avatar, but we love how easy it is and hope to get it done one more time before we leave!
When we got in the taxi after getting our hair done, our driver, Gary, called us "brownies." We've been upgraded! The locals call us "whities." It's not derogatory, they are just fascinated because they don't see white people very often. But our tans, along with our braids, have helped us move up to the next level :) Gary says that by the time we leave, we will be "yardies," which is what the locals call themselves.
Speaking of Gary...we learned a lesson in Jamaican culture at lunch today! Kayla, Josh, and I went into town with Gary to pick up lunch for the group since it was raining. We were told that the local men are very flirty, and we've all heard quite a few cat calls since we arrived. "Hey nice lehdeh" is our current favorite. Anyway, nothing could have prepared me for the full fledged flirtation from our cab driver today! I'll admit, it's nice to have our own personal "body guard" who knows his way around and can negotiate with the locals in Patois to get us a better deal.
We have picked up a few phrases in Patois from Gary and from our brother, Chris. It is so fascinating! Anyway, time to socialize with the family!
Love and miss you all,
Kayla and Linds
Yesterday after class Kayla and I went to the salon where our host mom gets her hair done, and we each got our hair braided. It took about 3 hours for them to braid both of our hair. It's amazing how quickly they can braid! It cost us $500 each to get it done (don't panic! that's only about $6 American!) We enjoyed talking with the locals and learning more about the area. I personally think I look like an Avatar, but we love how easy it is and hope to get it done one more time before we leave!
When we got in the taxi after getting our hair done, our driver, Gary, called us "brownies." We've been upgraded! The locals call us "whities." It's not derogatory, they are just fascinated because they don't see white people very often. But our tans, along with our braids, have helped us move up to the next level :) Gary says that by the time we leave, we will be "yardies," which is what the locals call themselves.
Speaking of Gary...we learned a lesson in Jamaican culture at lunch today! Kayla, Josh, and I went into town with Gary to pick up lunch for the group since it was raining. We were told that the local men are very flirty, and we've all heard quite a few cat calls since we arrived. "Hey nice lehdeh" is our current favorite. Anyway, nothing could have prepared me for the full fledged flirtation from our cab driver today! I'll admit, it's nice to have our own personal "body guard" who knows his way around and can negotiate with the locals in Patois to get us a better deal.
We have picked up a few phrases in Patois from Gary and from our brother, Chris. It is so fascinating! Anyway, time to socialize with the family!
Love and miss you all,
Kayla and Linds
Monday, September 6, 2010
Them dumb!
We've learned a few important cultural lessons lately.
Before we came to Mandeville, our taxi driver said he would come pick us up "soon come." That was at 11:00 AM. He arrived at our villa at 2:00. Soon come can mean anywhere from a few minutes to...forever. After that, we stopped at a market place in Ochie. We were walking around, browsing the shops. Tourism is the main way that people make money here, so the vendors are generally pretty aggressive. Some of us girls were signing to each other, and some vendors came up to talk to us and then immediately started saying "Oh, them dumb!" and started mocking us.
It was painful, but a good lesson for us to learn. We went from being seen as "rich, white tourists" to being dirt, nothing, "dumb." Deaf people are treated very poorly here, called dumb, seen as having no language and no education. It's so sad, but it was good to put myself in the shoes of a Deaf Jamaican, if only for a minute.
The ride to Mandeville was 2.5 hours on a winding, narrow road filled with potholes. I slept most of the way because I wasn't feeling well. We arrived at our local coordinator's house and she fed us a delicious "American" meal, which definitely hit the spot. We had a quick orientation and then were sent off to our host families' houses.
Kayla and I feel blessed to be staying with Mr. and Mrs. Robertson and their two "children." We were excited to learn that we have a host brother and host sister, both are in their 30s. Our house is wonderful, nice not only by Jamaican standards, but American as well. Kayla and I share a room off the house, we each have our own full size bed, and we have our own bathroom. Our mom feeds us VERY well. :)
Today was our first day of class. We met Felicia, a local Deaf woman who will be teaching the ASL 201 students. We then went into Mandeville and ate lunch at "the best Jerk place around." Then we went on a tour of the city. So far, so good. :)
Love and miss you all,
Lindsay and Kayla
Before we came to Mandeville, our taxi driver said he would come pick us up "soon come." That was at 11:00 AM. He arrived at our villa at 2:00. Soon come can mean anywhere from a few minutes to...forever. After that, we stopped at a market place in Ochie. We were walking around, browsing the shops. Tourism is the main way that people make money here, so the vendors are generally pretty aggressive. Some of us girls were signing to each other, and some vendors came up to talk to us and then immediately started saying "Oh, them dumb!" and started mocking us.
It was painful, but a good lesson for us to learn. We went from being seen as "rich, white tourists" to being dirt, nothing, "dumb." Deaf people are treated very poorly here, called dumb, seen as having no language and no education. It's so sad, but it was good to put myself in the shoes of a Deaf Jamaican, if only for a minute.
The ride to Mandeville was 2.5 hours on a winding, narrow road filled with potholes. I slept most of the way because I wasn't feeling well. We arrived at our local coordinator's house and she fed us a delicious "American" meal, which definitely hit the spot. We had a quick orientation and then were sent off to our host families' houses.
Kayla and I feel blessed to be staying with Mr. and Mrs. Robertson and their two "children." We were excited to learn that we have a host brother and host sister, both are in their 30s. Our house is wonderful, nice not only by Jamaican standards, but American as well. Kayla and I share a room off the house, we each have our own full size bed, and we have our own bathroom. Our mom feeds us VERY well. :)
Today was our first day of class. We met Felicia, a local Deaf woman who will be teaching the ASL 201 students. We then went into Mandeville and ate lunch at "the best Jerk place around." Then we went on a tour of the city. So far, so good. :)
Love and miss you all,
Lindsay and Kayla
Saturday, September 4, 2010
First update :)
Hello all!
Some of you may already know some of what you're about to read, as we have already sent out a few emails since we arrived. Kayla and I have decided to do a blog together, since we just found out that we will be living with the same host family for the first 6 weeks of our time in Jamaica (I, Lindsay, will probably be doing most of the updating). We will be stationed in Mandeville, which is in the south central part of the island. It is one of the "coolest" spots on the island, as it's in a mountainous area.
Ok, rewind. Our journey to Jamaica was a long and exhausting one. We slept for about an hour on Wednesday night, because we had to get up and meet south of the Union at 2:30 AM Thursday morning. We loaded our bags and our sleep deprived bodies onto a Greyhound bus with the Peru group and made the trek to Chicago O'hare. There, everything went smoothly for our group through check-in and security. Both the flight to Atlanta and the flight to Montego Bay went smoothly as well.
We arrived in Montego Bay around 2:00 PM local time (which is an hour behind Eastern). We were all very tired but in good spirits, until we got to customs. We went up to the officers in twos, and were questioned rigorously. We were told to tell them that we are in the country as tourists rather than students, because you have to have a visa to study in another country. We are staying in country the maximum time allowed without a visa, 90 days. The officers didn't believe us and we were all afraid that we would be detained. I was with Sarah, and we were the last to get through. We kept seeing other members of our group filter through and almost lost our composure until finally the officer stamped our passports and let us through.
We were so relieved to step out of the airport and see Josh, our leader, smiling and waving a sign that said "Welcome Goshen students!" It was pouring rain when we crammed into the van that would take us on the hour and a half drive to Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We were lucky enough to find a beautiful villa on the beach for a very decent price. We got settled into our rooms and then had a wonderful meal of spaghetti and salad as a group (we were met at the villa by Josh's wife Rachel and their son JP, as well as the staff of the villa, Lindo and Millicent).
After we ate some of us girls decided to swim in our pool and take a snorkeling lesson from Josh to prepare us for our adventure the next day. We all went to bed early after such an exhausting day.
Friday we woke up early and walked down to the beach. It is a rock beach, which makes it quite difficult to manuver, but still beautiful. We ate breakfast together, and then headed off to Dunn River falls. It was wonderful. We were all laughing and smiling as we jumped right into the reservoir at the bottom of the falls. We immediately started climbing up the rocks with the water crashing down all around us. The water was crisp, cool, and refreshing. For me, it was definitely near the top of my list of favorite days. :)
After that we ate peanut butter sandwiches and headed off to the beach to do some snorkeling. For me, getting in the water was quite a feat since I am deathly afraid of water that has living creatures in it. Despite that, I dove right in and was quite pleased with the experience. Kayla, ever the explorer of slimy creepy creatures, was one of the braver of the group as she dove right in (without much snorkeling experience) to see what she could find. She kept getting water in her mask though, because she laughed so hard every time she saw me freak out. After Josh told us to watch the ocean floor before stepping down because of sea urchins and sting rays, I decided not to touch the ocean floor the entire time I snorkeled. I swam like a fish and really enjoyed it, but near the end, I got tired and would swim up to someone who was standing and latch onto them so I could catch my breath.
Josh decided to have one of the locals take us out farther to a reef so we could see more fish. On the way out of the water, Brittany accidentally stuck her hand on a sea urchin (or sea needle as the locals call it). Josh, Brit and I headed to the shore to get her treated while the rest of the students went out to snorkel at the reef. Needless to say, seeing my friend get stabbed by a sea needle was enough to get my paranoid butt out of the ocean. We contacted some of the locals that Josh knows, and all of them said "Pee on it." So...Brittany tried to pee on it but didn't have enough. Being the wonderful, dedicated friend that I am, I volunteered to help her out. I peed on her hand. Looking back, I'm totally freaked out that I did that, but at the time, watching her hand bleed and seeing the black spikes in her fingers, I was more than happy to help out. Of course we got tons of laughs out of it. Brittany was a trooper and is feeling fine, she even went snorkeling again today.
At the ocean we tried some guinep, which is quite a strange fruit. They look sort of like grapes but have a very slimy texture. To me, it felt like I was eating an eyeball. For dinner Millicent made rice and peas (kidney beans) and chicken. After dinner Lindo and Millicent turned on some Reggae music and showed us how the locals dance. The entire group got up to join in, after me, of course. :)
Today has been a long day of orientation. We are learning facts about the island, the culture, the Deaf schools, etc. We found out who we are partnered with for the first 6 weeks of SST. For lunch we had patties, a typical Jamaican lunch (they cost about $0.90). They are a flaky pastry type thing with meat on the inside. We also had juice bags, which are literally just juice in plastic bags. You bite of the edge and drink it just like that.
Now it's time for more orientation. Tomorrow we head to Mandeville to meet our host families.
We love and miss you all,
Lindsay and Kayla
Some of you may already know some of what you're about to read, as we have already sent out a few emails since we arrived. Kayla and I have decided to do a blog together, since we just found out that we will be living with the same host family for the first 6 weeks of our time in Jamaica (I, Lindsay, will probably be doing most of the updating). We will be stationed in Mandeville, which is in the south central part of the island. It is one of the "coolest" spots on the island, as it's in a mountainous area.
Ok, rewind. Our journey to Jamaica was a long and exhausting one. We slept for about an hour on Wednesday night, because we had to get up and meet south of the Union at 2:30 AM Thursday morning. We loaded our bags and our sleep deprived bodies onto a Greyhound bus with the Peru group and made the trek to Chicago O'hare. There, everything went smoothly for our group through check-in and security. Both the flight to Atlanta and the flight to Montego Bay went smoothly as well.
We arrived in Montego Bay around 2:00 PM local time (which is an hour behind Eastern). We were all very tired but in good spirits, until we got to customs. We went up to the officers in twos, and were questioned rigorously. We were told to tell them that we are in the country as tourists rather than students, because you have to have a visa to study in another country. We are staying in country the maximum time allowed without a visa, 90 days. The officers didn't believe us and we were all afraid that we would be detained. I was with Sarah, and we were the last to get through. We kept seeing other members of our group filter through and almost lost our composure until finally the officer stamped our passports and let us through.
We were so relieved to step out of the airport and see Josh, our leader, smiling and waving a sign that said "Welcome Goshen students!" It was pouring rain when we crammed into the van that would take us on the hour and a half drive to Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We were lucky enough to find a beautiful villa on the beach for a very decent price. We got settled into our rooms and then had a wonderful meal of spaghetti and salad as a group (we were met at the villa by Josh's wife Rachel and their son JP, as well as the staff of the villa, Lindo and Millicent).
After we ate some of us girls decided to swim in our pool and take a snorkeling lesson from Josh to prepare us for our adventure the next day. We all went to bed early after such an exhausting day.
Friday we woke up early and walked down to the beach. It is a rock beach, which makes it quite difficult to manuver, but still beautiful. We ate breakfast together, and then headed off to Dunn River falls. It was wonderful. We were all laughing and smiling as we jumped right into the reservoir at the bottom of the falls. We immediately started climbing up the rocks with the water crashing down all around us. The water was crisp, cool, and refreshing. For me, it was definitely near the top of my list of favorite days. :)
After that we ate peanut butter sandwiches and headed off to the beach to do some snorkeling. For me, getting in the water was quite a feat since I am deathly afraid of water that has living creatures in it. Despite that, I dove right in and was quite pleased with the experience. Kayla, ever the explorer of slimy creepy creatures, was one of the braver of the group as she dove right in (without much snorkeling experience) to see what she could find. She kept getting water in her mask though, because she laughed so hard every time she saw me freak out. After Josh told us to watch the ocean floor before stepping down because of sea urchins and sting rays, I decided not to touch the ocean floor the entire time I snorkeled. I swam like a fish and really enjoyed it, but near the end, I got tired and would swim up to someone who was standing and latch onto them so I could catch my breath.
Josh decided to have one of the locals take us out farther to a reef so we could see more fish. On the way out of the water, Brittany accidentally stuck her hand on a sea urchin (or sea needle as the locals call it). Josh, Brit and I headed to the shore to get her treated while the rest of the students went out to snorkel at the reef. Needless to say, seeing my friend get stabbed by a sea needle was enough to get my paranoid butt out of the ocean. We contacted some of the locals that Josh knows, and all of them said "Pee on it." So...Brittany tried to pee on it but didn't have enough. Being the wonderful, dedicated friend that I am, I volunteered to help her out. I peed on her hand. Looking back, I'm totally freaked out that I did that, but at the time, watching her hand bleed and seeing the black spikes in her fingers, I was more than happy to help out. Of course we got tons of laughs out of it. Brittany was a trooper and is feeling fine, she even went snorkeling again today.
At the ocean we tried some guinep, which is quite a strange fruit. They look sort of like grapes but have a very slimy texture. To me, it felt like I was eating an eyeball. For dinner Millicent made rice and peas (kidney beans) and chicken. After dinner Lindo and Millicent turned on some Reggae music and showed us how the locals dance. The entire group got up to join in, after me, of course. :)
Today has been a long day of orientation. We are learning facts about the island, the culture, the Deaf schools, etc. We found out who we are partnered with for the first 6 weeks of SST. For lunch we had patties, a typical Jamaican lunch (they cost about $0.90). They are a flaky pastry type thing with meat on the inside. We also had juice bags, which are literally just juice in plastic bags. You bite of the edge and drink it just like that.
Now it's time for more orientation. Tomorrow we head to Mandeville to meet our host families.
We love and miss you all,
Lindsay and Kayla
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