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Published: October 1st 2005
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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 approached me and began giving very wet kisses on both of my cheeks. At this point I knew that she was Sr. Paolo from Italy. Her Italian accent introduced me to Sr. Sophia from the Kingdom of Tonga (that’s in the South Pacific for all of non-geographers). Sr. Sophia is a robust woman that laughs and eats well. Both of the sisters were very glad to see us.
Sophia and I left the airport and zoomed off in her small white economy (it’s a Sunny, I think) car for home. This drive formed my
the pool forms in front of our house
It rains everyday, and everyday we have a huge pool in front of our hosue. first impressions of Kingston. First, I have never sat on the left side of the car and not serve as the driver. “Zooming” is what you do…constant weaving in and out of traffic. The traffic is absolutely horrible here. The distance may not be far but it will take lots of time to get there. Every time I have been in the car (which is now every day) I have been in bumper to bumper traffic. Back to my first day...Since it was about 3:30pm when were driving home, there was a rainbow of colors lining the streets and bus stops. All the school children wear uniforms in different colors: blue, pink, purple, red, green etc. The uniforms are neatly pressed and the small children 4-5yrs look very cute wearing pink shirts, khakis, and pink socks. Men stood along the highway trying to sell the giant fish they caught, and people were stuffed into small vans or “minibuses” and cars, often hanging on to the outside of the vehicle. Much of downtown Kingston looked like it had ONCE been a beautiful city. Now, the buildings are in shambles. Sand and dirt cover the sidewalks making it easy for weeds to
grow.
The roads and driving is horrible. Potholes are everywhere, making driving a chore. They have filled some of the potholes with pieces of bricks, which doesn’t seem like a great solution to me. Besides dodging potholes, a driver must watch out for the extremely aggressive driving, tons of school children, stray dogs, people on bikes, and last but not least, goats. People let their goats run loose every morning to eat trash and other things side of the road. Most of the trash seems to be burned here…making the city quite smelly at times. At intersections, men sell random things such as steering wheel covers, cold water, and newspapers, or begin to wash your windows and expect you to pay without asking, while you wait for the light to turn green.
Havendale, the portion of the city where we live is considered to be fairly “posh” as one Jamaican flight attendant told us. However, most Americans would think the house is very modest. We live in a 2-story house that used to be an office building. There is a large fence around our house. There are fences around most buildings here, making schools and restaurants
George
or George, Spunkey, Prince...our dog. Perhaps the dumbest dog i've ever seen. We are working on being friends. look more like prison facilities. There are bars on all the windows of the first floor of the house, making it quite a fire hazard. Nonetheless, I prefer the bars to theft. There are no screens on the windows, any bugs or lizards can make themselves at home in my room. Thankfully, I have not had a problem with Mosquitoes at our house yet. I have a modest room (see the picture), my only decoration at the moment is a Jesus plate on the wall, next to the fan, thanks to the sisters. I’m very grateful for my fan, as we do not use Air Conditioning. Speaking of AC, whoever told me that Jamaica was not humid is perhaps the biggest liar I have ever met. It’s quite like Kansas, but unlike Kansas no one has AC, not at work or home. Soon, I’m going to become a real Jamaica and begin to carry my sweat-rag…that’s no joke!
It has rained every day that I have been here….not just drizzle or showers, but downpours every afternoon. The downpours may only last a little over an hour but cause all sorts of problems if you are trying to drive
The warehouse
This is a building on our property. I'm not yet sure what is in it. anywhere. Besides dodging the goats, when it rains, you must also learn to drive through water up to the bottom of the bumper on the car. There is not much of a drainage system for the streets. All the streets flood with any type of rain. We have a huge pool of water form and then disappear every day in front of our house. There is often at least 4-5inches of water on the road when we are driving in the rain.
In the last seven days I’ve tried new foods, and drinks. Every morning for breakfast I have guava/pineapple juice. It is very tasty. I’ve also had guava’s plain…which I really do not enjoy. I have had some Jamaican specialties which include Patties (I think they kind of taste like a burrito), and Calaloo, which are greens mixed with fish, including the bones. You probably know which one I preferred. One fruit that I really enjoy is Sweet Sop. The fruit itself resembles a closed pinecone, which is soft to the touch. It however, is very sweet with a cream colored filling full of black seeds. You do not eat the seeds. I hope to have it
Old Cars
More buildings on our property again soon. I do not hope to have June plums, green oranges that taste like grapefruit and calaloo any time soon. I have also been eating “breadfruit” almost everyday. It is base for many Jamaican diets, as it grows everywhere, and is a starch that fills you up. It tastes much like its name: Bread. Sophia often fries it making something that I think is like French fries.
Okay, I know this entry is extremely long. I just have so many things to say. I will begin work next week at St. Pius X school teaching math and English to high school age students who are in the Skills for Life program learning a technical skill like catering, sewing, and cosmetology. I feel like this entry is really inadequate in telling you how welcomed I feel and how much I am glad to be here. There really is a lot that can be done, and I will be able to help…I will have to work on my long division skills if I’m going to be helping with Math 😉..haha. Oh, I also became a godmother, but that is another paragraph so if you want to know you’ll have
Security
Our front door. We have bars on all the windows and doors. to email me. Lots of Love---Nancy
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Lana
non-member comment
Wow! jamaica sounds awesome! I can only imagine how hot it is though. do you really carry a sweat rag? lol