Life In Jamaica

I arrived in Jamaica on July 24th after staying in Philly the night before. I didn’t get to my hotel until 10pm on the 23rd so I went straight to bed only to be up at 3am the next morning! After a flight from Philly to Atlanta and Atlanta to Kingston I had finally arrived. Because I had been planning on this for about a year it was almost hard to believe I had finally arrived. I was supposed to fly in with Jared, Matt and Charity but because of complications with flights and passports I flew in by myself. Father Lucian, Sister Maureen, and Lauren (a current volunteer finishing up her final week) picked me up at the airport and we headed to Stony Hill, my new home. It’s hard to even describe what the sights were like driving through Kingston. The airport is located on a long peninsula so we had to drive through a lot of Kingston to get to our apartment. There were lots of street vendors selling local fruits, soda, juice, and an assortment of Jamaican goods. It felt like I was in a completely different world. It was about 85 or 90 degrees with lots of humidity so as soon as you get out of a building or car you begin to sweat. I was quiet on the way up to our apartment really taking it all in and kind of in shock not really knowing what to expect. Lauren seemed like such an expert and all I could think is how will I ever become accustomed to all the newness that lay around me. They pointed out land marks along the way but as I look back on it, all of it seemed a blur. We drove up a long road-Hillstone Heights which is where our apartment is and at the top we pulled in next to a large yellow apartment building. We unloaded the car and I brought my stuff up to my room that I will be sharing with Tracy and Charity. I didn’t unpack right away but I did get to spend the afternoon with a little boy named Jamal who was hanging around our house while his dad was working construction on an apartment in the back. It a situation that seemed so unknown I found comfort in just sitting and being with him. Lauren and I also talked for awhile about her experience over the year. She had lots of helpful advice and I would soon learn over the first week to take in everything Betsy and Lauren said…they knew it best…they had lived it for a year. We picked up Jared that evening and got him moved in as well. Matt flew in the next morning so then there was three!
My computer ran into issues on the way down so I have gone without a computer for a week and with so many new things happening this makes for a very long blog today. Sunday was church day we left around 8:15 and headed over to Immaculate Conception Church in Stony Hill for mass. The celebrant was Father Gaston. Mass in Jamaica is a big deal and can take awhile but I loved it. The music is much livelier and is more open and friendly. As new volunteers we were all welcomed in by Father Gaston and the community. Betsy and Lauren were also recognized for their outstanding work this year. Watching how effected Lauren and Betsy were by their community and the love that was poured out to them made me so excited for this coming year. You could see how much they had touched so many people throughout the year and that as new volunteers we have some very large shoes to fill! After that mass we headed to the rectory where I met Father Gaston who would take me up to Devon Pen…my mission for the year. I had found out on Friday when I arrived that Devon Pen would be my mission but I had no idea what it would look like. Lots of names were thrown at me but had no idea who the people were and what they would be like. While headed to the mission I was filled with lots of excitement and nerves. What would it be like, what would the people think of me, would they be welcoming or the opposite? We drove up Junction (a long twist-turny and dangerous road that leads to all of our missions). Mass was lively and long! It lasted about 2 hours but because it was so new and different I didn’t seem to notice much. After mass Father Gaston took me to Aunt Daph’s house to deliver communion to Mas John her husband who is very sick and can’t leave home. We sang some hymns and said a few prayers and Father Gaston anointed Mas John and delivered the Eucharist. It was really beautiful and was really grateful that he allowed me to be a part of it. I also soon learned that Aunt Daph would become kind of my segregate mother for the year in Devon Pen. She is widely known in the community and it well respected. She welcomed me with open arms into her home which was so wonderful and reassured me that this is right where I need to be.
Father Gaston brought me to Lorraine’s in Stony Hill after where a large meal had been prepared for us. Lorraine is on the formation team and will be a person that we can call or see any time for anything. She has lots of connections in the community and told us that she already considers us her children!
The week was busy but slow all at the same time. I am quickly learning that things that take only minutes in the United States can take all day here. We have already made two trips to the bank and need to go back for a third time to finalize things with our accounts. That is one of the many examples of things that seem to take forever!
On Tuesday afternoon Betsy took me up to Devon Pen where I finally got to see firsthand the homes id be visiting often this year. Devon Pen is made up of three sub-communities- Friendship Gap, Devon Pen, and Thomas field. In Friendship Gap I visit Aunt Daph, Miss Vera and all of her grand and great grand children, the Dunn’s and Miss Molly and her grandson Jordan. In Devon Pen I visit- Mommy and her many children, Miss. B, Winesome and her kids and in Thomasfield Ioca and her family. There are more people for me to get to know and introduce myself to but that will come in time and I have enough to keep me busy for a while. On Wednesday and Thursday I took the public bus up to the mission and spent the two days re-visiting families I had met previously. I’m feeling much more comfortable with the area. Taking the bus was interesting…sometimes there is standing room only and that standing room is right in front of an open door. I have been driving as well…in Jamaica they drive on the other side of the road and its completely different from driving in the United States.
Firsts Since I’ve been here:
· Pattie-Jamaican Favorite: dough with beef, chicken, cheese, or veggies in it
· Fruits: breadfruit, mangos, bananas, gynips, papaya, root, jelly coconut
· Acai and salt fish
· Curried Goat
· Red Stripe
· Appleton Rum
· Sweet Bun and Cheese
I’ll write more soon but this is a very long blog. I’ll give more details on what it looks like. I have posted a few new photos and plan to take more this week! Enjoy!