I finally got to spend one night out of the convent. I’m very gracious to the four Jamaican guys (all who spend lots of time at St. Pius) who took Meaghan and I to our first Jamaican party. We met them at St. Pius and then drove to a two-story building near New Kingston to commence the evening. According to most of the Jamaicans that we have talked to, most Jamaican parties don’t really get going until around 2:00 AM. Here we were out at 12:00 am and the party was, well wasn’t hopping. We paid $150 (US$2ish) to go to [View Full Entry]

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Another good week! It’s been busy, but very good. It’s 8:30pm on a Friday night and I’m locked into the convent….sad day (hopefully these Friday nights won’t last much longer). I, myself, have fully recovered from hurricane Wilma. However, many people in Jamaica are still displaced from their homes. Every night on “CVM” news (the only TV news source) there are new pictures of people using boats to move from place to place, and pictures of water up to the rooftops of houses. Many roads are still closed in more rural parts of the island. [View Full Entry]

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My first week of work has completed, and today, Monday, October 17, 2005 is National Heroes Day (also Kelsey’s birthday) in Jamaica. This means that it is a holiday weekend and there is no school today! Sr. Sophia, Meaghan and I had planned to make our way to the Kingston Beach however; Mother Nature had another plan for us today. I didn’t sleep well last night, our dog, George, began yelping around 2am. I figured the neighborhood cats were in our yard and he couldn’t case them since he was chained up. Around 4:30 AM, I was awakened by George [View Full Entry]

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I PROMISE TO HAVE PICTURES UP SOON…JUST HAVE TO FIND A COMPUTER WITH DSL THAT ACCEPTS MY CAMERA”S USB DRIVE (I already tried downloading one…it would be helpful if I had a jump drive if anyone has an extra, wink wink ;))haha! Living in Jamaica is definitely the hard life. Right now, I’m preparing to go to Doctor’s Cave beach, the most famous in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Earlier this week I visited the beach and had a great time. I spent five hours soaking up the rays, and enjoying the crystal blue water. The water was about 15 feet deep and [View Full Entry]

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My first days in Jamaica. ---I will get the pictures posted soon, I promise!!! Today marks my 7th day, first full week in Jamaica. Disclaimer: The following are only my first impressions, most of them from very first day, and may or may not represent the country or the people well. I have felt extremely welcomed in Jamaica. It’s hard to believe that more people say hello and wave to me than at home in Kansas. After arriving off the plane, and through customs, I was almost immediately greeted by the two sisters. A short, extremely broad shouldered, grey/white haired sister [View Full Entry]

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Hi everyone! I currently have been trying to get to Jamaica for 33 hours. We left Boston Logan International 3 hours late due to Mechanical problems, and missed our connecting flight to Kingston. This has caused us a couple of problems, because Hurricane Rita is currently reeking havoc on the Florida Keys and will soon be a category 4 hurricane by the time it hits either the LA or TX area. We have been booked on 4 different flights to Kingston, all of which have either been missed or cancelled. American Airlines has thankfully provided us a hotel room for [View Full Entry]

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I spent the past weekend in Biddeford, ME (that’s Maine for all of you who don’t have your abbreviations memorized). We had a very smooth and easy, two hour ride on Amtrak to Meaghan’s hometown. Both Sr. Maria and I had never been to Maine so this was an adventure. Friday night we drove around Portland, ME (setting of many of Stephen King books) and looked at the HUGE OLD houses. They are massive homes of former maritime workers. Then, we went to the Portland Art Museum. Every Friday afternoon it is free to the public. Currently they are featuring [View Full Entry]

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We went to Boston on Saturday! Here are a couple pictures! [View Full Entry]

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Today is a Marian feast day. That means the Marist sisters celebrate a little more than usual. The only difference was we had wine at lunch and we had to get up early for Morning Prayer (6:45AM). Usually, we pray in the afternoon on Thursdays. Anyway, I thought I would tell a couple things that I found interesting. First, the Franciscan priests that live across the street and take a vow of poverty, have a flatscreen TV in their kitchen, as well as a big screen TV in the living room, and have salted cashews all over the house. I’m not [View Full Entry]

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Hola! I hope everyone is doing well! I have survived my first week of training with MVP. Let me tell ya, I really struggled to survive. The nine other volunteers and I had a great time getting to know each other. We stayed at “Bishops Hall” a retreat center/ retired priest’s center (much like the spiritual life center only very old) in Framingham, Massachusetts. We spent most of our days learning about the history of the Marist Family (the priests, sisters, brothers, and laity). Every night we had free time starting at about 7-8pm. The weather here is perfect. Not [View Full Entry]

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