Day 2 of the Jamaica 2006 Review!

Day Two:

What adjustments I've had to make! Life is SO different down here: we Americans take MANY things for granted in our lives - only day two and I'm saying that - YIKES!

But really: when I said yesterday that we had to "cozy up" our little abode, what I should have said was, "we had to rid cabinets of lizard poop, wipe EVERYTHING down, and settle in around our lovely walls adorned with dried up, mashed roach guts. Ahhh, Jamaica. :)

Don't get me wrong though, the place IS gorgeous, and the people are amazing: but when you have to chase three-inch grasshoppers and lizards around your house, well, let's just say one learns to quickly appreciate what they have back home.

Today was great, but exhausting. It was the first day of school for the semester for the kids, and our first day as teacher's aids (Cheryl and me). The kids of course, had to test thier boundaries with us as the new people, so that became a little exhausting having to discipline and chase children around all day long. (I said "exhausting" twice in two sentences - I AM tired!) But we really only had a half day today, as Cheryl and I spent the early afternoon with Mrs. Missionary to have an orientation time of sorts on the veranda at her house. The view from her house: simply BREATHTAKING!! You can see most of the mountain range, the city, AND the ocean from thier house - gorgeous! As we sat there, a storm system moved through, and it absolutely POURED! Tropical rains are heavy and fast - and beautiful too!

We took an hour break to get some R&R, and then headed down to help the kids with homework and hang out with them for awhile. We met with the missionaries briefly, and later went to the older girls' house for devotions.

My favorite thing above all else so far, is how God is just infused in EVERYTHING here! Prayers before school, prayers before breaks, prayers at EVERY meal: prayers at bedtime, along with devotions, services at LEAST twice a week, and prayer meetings. LOVE IT!! The cool thing is, that the kids love it too: they especially love worship - God really IS everywhere here!

Speaking of which, it's time for me to read my Bible before I get too tired to even keep my eyes open: it's only 8:30pm, and I'm already in bed - face washed, teeth brushed. Didn't I say I was EXHAUSTED?!

"Jamaica Review 2006": Day 1

Well folks, as promised, the first edition of MANY of the already-popular and sought-after "Jamaican Review 2006 Chronicals".

Okay, okay... so it's not all that popular, nor is it so much sought-after at this point, but it IS somewhat exciting, and will only increase in excitement as time goes by. So, for those of you who were wondering what the heck I was doing in the tropics for all that time: well, strap on your seatbelts, baby, cause you're in for a wild ride! And for those of you who weren't wondering: well... too bad. Read it anyway. ;)

So, without further adeiu:

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Chapter 1

Day 1:

After a hard goodbye with mom, I headed out from Chicago to Miami, to be connected from there to Kingston, Jamaica. There was a bit of a mix-up, however, at the ticket counter in Chicago, because they apparently tried to send me to San Salvador, Honduras! (Don't ask me how it took me almost an hour of sitting in a terminal, surrounded by a bunch of Latino-looking folks to figure that one out...) But I was too smart for them! (Riiiight...) So, I eventually found my correct gate, and shortly thereafter, I landed in Kingston - the epitome of all that is hot and humid in the world.

The missionaries' son, John (name changed to protect the innocent), met me at the Kingston airport, where we proceeded to wait for a couple of HOURS for Cheryl (my soon-to-be-roommate) - (name changed to protect the innocent) to fly in. In the meantime, I was able to people watch (WHOA!!!), listen to them talk (I just LOVE the accent!), and I read the Jamaican "STAR" - VERY interesting take on world news!!

Once Cheryl arrived (very nice girl - she's a missionary kid who was raised in Africa), we then headed out to meet the missionaries for dinner at a mall in Kingston.

My favorite N., was there with them (one of the kids I had met from my previous trip to the home - she is SO sweet!), and I was just so happy to see her! After dinner, she came shopping with us while the missionaries went to a meeting in town.

We eventually made our way up the mountain, and I just drank in the scenery around me - God's creation is just BREATHTAKING!!!

Once we reached the home, we unloaded, took a quick tour of the facility, and said hi to the kids, and then the rest of the evening was our to use to settle in, unpack, and make our humble little abode cozy for ourselves for the next three months.

Sleep....

My Recent Absence...

I appologize to all my dedicated readers (all three of you haha!), for my recent extended absence. I guess I have no real good reason to excuse my recent blogging behavior, however, I am committed to making it up to you!

So, starting THIS evening, Thursday, January 11th, 2007, I will begin what I would like to call, "The Jamaica 2006 Review", in which I will go back in time to my very first journal entry, beginning September 4, 2006, and document daily (from Monday to Friday) each individual entry up until December 2nd, 2006, when I returned home. This will give you, my readers, an opportunity to get right in there with me, and almost experience, firsthand, what it would have been like to be in my shoes.

Now granted, be not disappointed if here and there, my entries are simply not fantastic or overly detailed: some days were just not that exciting! But I can guarantee you that you will see triumph, failure, personal victory and growth, all tossed together with a little humor to boot!

So keep your eyes peeled for my first edition of "The Jamaica 2006 Review": you WON'T be disappointed!

P.S.: I miss you all!!