Blogs from Kingston, Jamaica, Central America Caribbean - page 8

Nancy and I threw our first "party" since being in Jamaica on Friday night. Okay, so it was more of a dinner than a party, and it consisted of Nancy and I, Lesroy (a seminarian from the island of St. Kitt), Phillip (a novice from Oregon), and Damian (a music teacher from Jamaica). We didn't actually eat until well after 9:00pm because Lesroy, Damian, and Nancy were all coming from a veeeeeeeery long choir practice at St. Pius, so Phillip and I ended up spending quite a bit of time and exerting quite a bit of love into the making of the meal. Can't go wrong with spaghetti, salad, and cheesy garlic bread. Mmmmm...cheese. The meal was muy delicioso...and I'm not just saying that because I helped cook it. Well, okay, so maybe I am. The ... read more

Yet another week has come and gone here in Jamaica and the following are just a few of the slightly odd/ridiculous/frightening occurrences that have come to pass. 1. The Mother Superior was in Jamaica this past week to visit, so we had a gathering at our house as kind of a Welcome-Sister-Judith-And-Thank-You-Mr.-And-Mrs.-Monroe-For-Giving-Us-The-House celebration. All the big wigs in the religious community were invited so, of course, we were graced by the presence of the current Archbishop of Kingston --Larry -- and the previous Archbishop -- The Edge -- among about 25 other guests, from friends to other sisters and several local priests. After a blessing we sat down to dinner and I was privileged enough to be seated between the two Archbishops. Needless to say, dinner was one of the most interesting in my life. The ... read more

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