A few more words.....

I meant to send this email out last week…….. I think I’ll BLOG it instead to relieve a bit of the guilt. :)

Hello! Thought I would drop a line and let you know that we made it to Jamaica! I gotta say - the Peace Corps folks rock. They are taking really good care of us. At times - a little too good. While in Kingston they are exceptionally cautious about letting us roam too far from home without an escort. It feels a lot like summer camp (only with beer). Currently our group (all 52 of us) is housed in Shortwood College north of downtown. Established in 1885 this college has character: stone cottages, fruit trees, community gardens. Most challenging adjustments about the place? Trying to adapt to the saltfish every morning for breakfast, no running water after 8:00 PM, and checking in with a "warden" every time you leave campus. Welcomed adjustments? No air conditioning so every building is open to the outdoors with sea breezes blowing in. Still gets hot, but somehow smelling the ocean makes it OK. Sunday was washday. Hung out at the community laundry area the college provides for most of the morning with 10-15 other volunteers hand washing our clothes. The younger ones (20 - 21) were questioning whether or not they were "doing it right" while the older crowd (55 - 60) lavished in the shade of a mango tree reading their favorite books while watching their clothes dry. Progress and efficiency are often times over rated.

Kingston is a whole bunch of everything rolled up into one: exciting, alive, exhilarating, energetic, decaying, wild, untamed, loud, chaotic, challenging, spiritual, social.............. PC gave us a map and pointed out all the places we were not authorized to visit, and then proceeded to take us to all those places in small groups with a local Jamaican. Sort of funny but a good lesson in survival tips in the big city. Similar survival tips as in any big city - but I found myself actually paying attention this time. A great city full of art and culture but you have to be on guard 24/7. Walking the street markets downtown - spectacular. So much energy and action with wall-to-wall people (99% African descent). You can buy anything from the street vendors: laundry soap, big screen TVs, goat’s milk, porn, bibles, pirate blockbuster DVDs. I can imagine big cities in Africa feeling very similar.

The bus ride home was invigorating. A man stepped on board to preach the gospel and by the end of our trip the whole bus was singing gospel songs. Apparently this is a common and fairly well received practice. Like I said – a very spiritual island.

The local language? Patois is spoken EVERYWHERE by EVERYONE in Kingston. Before arriving I was lead to believe it was spoken primarily in rural areas. Not so! I hear it everywhere! In professional environments English is expected, but in informal settings I am definitely hearing more Patois. There is a wealth of island pride here, just not the funds to match it. There is a movement to teach Patois in schools along with English to help formalize and legitimize it. A good sign. The language lessons we are receiving are hilarious. I feel like I am back in kindergarten! With a little luck, “Me tingk me lern de Patwa soohn kom.”

I could keep rambling but I won’t. Hope all is well with you all! YSC