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