Blogs from Jamaica, Central America Caribbean - page 30

In honor of the fact that Nancy and I are now actively pursing higher education in the language of Patois, I thought it would only be fitting to share my enlightened view with everyone out there. Now, repeat after me: "Gwan a ya yaad" - Go home. Used repeatedly throughout the day, either to tell someone, literally, to go home, or as a joke between friends; ie - Nancy tells me I smell, I tell Nancy "Gwan a ya yaad." "Heveryting cris" - It's cool; it's all good. Usually used as a response to "How are you?" "A do a dem" - As in..."Me look affa Magon and Nancy, ave ya see a do a dem?" I'm looking for Meaghan and Nancy, have you seen the two of them? "Whey ya gwan?" - Where are you ... read more

It irie! (It’s okay, its first class, or that is excellent). 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. I believe that all streets are passable in Kingston, and I’ve even seen some men fixing a FEW of the huge potholes (a sight I never imagined to see). Right ... read more

I fear say my eyes are injured. Not physically, but emotionally, my eyes are scarred by what Jamaicans think is “the new black”. The next big thing. The greatest fashion accessory since sliced bread. (Not that sliced bread is a fashion accessory….unless you’re a toaster. Or Nutella. Mmmmm…Nutella.) I’m talking about…say it with me now….KNEE-LENGTH MESH TANKTOPS. It’s sad, really, that so many people could be so grievously mistaken about what is actually fashionable. It calls to mind that heartbreaking decade of the 1980s, when we rolled our tapered jeans around our ankles and tied our tshirts in knots on our waists and pulled our ponytails to the side of our heads. Oh, but wait! Even through all that travesty we didn’t wear knee-length mesh tanktops. It seems we were smart enough to avoid making such ... read more

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 again and looked out my window to find George being enveloped by water. Mind you, it is the rainy season and it rains every day, but it has rained almost continuously all weekend. So, early ... read more

Words will soon accompany these pictures! I promise! Nancy:)... read more