Ya Man!

Well I will try to sum up the last couple of days in some short stories...as promised.

When we arrived in Kingston there was a welcome dinner for us that night. Now mind you this was a very tiring day however we were dressed snazzy for the welcoming of the Jamaican Ambassador! What an honor! The playing of the national anthem nearly brought a tear to my eye! How great it is to be here and doing a service to our country!

On Saturday we had our first experience in Kingston off campus...this was equally exciting but nerve racking! We had several places to visit in a small amount of time. With little to no Patwa at this point it can make traveling somewhat complicated. We got onto a bus $J50.00 which is just under a US Dollar! After that we had to wave down a "Red Plate Taksi" and go to our next destination. Well this was equally entertaining. Imagine; riding in a taksi, stopping for gas, and cutting someone off that was at the gas station first. Mind you the gas was $J89.90 per liter! You do the math- say your prayers it's not that expensive in the US yet :) The taksi driva jumped out and started hollering at the other man- I seriously thought there was going to be a brawl for the gas! Fortunately they were able to work out their differences and away we went- For our listening pleasure--SNOOP DOGG! Then we went to the Market- this was fun but kind of stressful. We got onto another bus only to have it stopped and searched for weapons. The gentlemen behind me had a knife which he slid onto the floor by our feet- everyone was kicking it hoping they wouldn't be the one caught with a weapon. We all asked to get off the bus, were frisked :), and loaded back on the bus- No Harm No Fowl!

Yesterday we decided to handwash all of our clothes from the last week- that is some freaking hard work! My back was aching to say the least- Will was a trooper though and kept me in line while helping me rinse and hang the laundry. Amen for a Washer and Dryer in the U.S.

It has become very apparent to me that the Jamaican people are a very caring, sweet, and nice culture. Over the last few days we both receive several smiles, nods, mornins, and evenin's. We have become more accustom to the heat- however we both still sweat like little pigs in the middle of the day! The food has taken some getting used to- I'm not going to lie- we have both had some seriously upset tummys! The showers are still FRIGID!!! Although some days they are bearable! The bugs must love my skin- I have about 15 bite marks on each leg- oh the pain…and the itching!

We're learning so much about the culture and language! It's so amazing and we haven't even been here for a week! This week we have a couple of field trips planned which will be exciting- I will get better about taking pictures I promise- It's been an adjustment so give me a break:) The thing we're the most excited about is finding out where we will be placed, what our job will actually be, and who our host family is!

Lastly I wanted everyone to know that it’s practically a requirement that we carry a cell phone- therefore if you would like the number please comment or send me an e-mail and I’ll hook you up- We can receive international calls for free but it costs us money to call you!

Likkle Mo! (See you later!)