The New Year

New Year's Day is a very big holiday for Jamaicans, or at least that is how it seemed to me. Practically every store, shop, and even some of the route taxis were closed.  There was not a taxi to West Haven so I wasn't able to visit with the children.  But, I was able to catch up on a few emails, sleep, and just relax.  One of the volunteers and I went to the beach in the afternoon and did a little bit of shopping for our families :)

I thought since I didn't really have much to talk about today I would talk about the other volunteers and where they are from.

Tae is from the United States (Indiana) and arrived a day after me.  She is part of the veterinarian program and will be in Jamaica for three weeks.  Tae lives with the same host family as me.

Nikki also lives with the same host family as me but has already been here for three months! I can't imagine being here for that long.  Nikki is leaving this coming Wednesday.  She is from Austria as I mentioned in an earlier post and is a part of the veterinarian program as well.  Prior to the vet program she did do some work at the orphanage for a few weeks.

Alicia lives with a different host family and is from Germany.  She is spending her time at the orphanage, and will be in Jamaica for 3-4 months.

Lea also lives with a different host family and is also from Germany.  She is volunteering with the journalism program and has already had a paper published in the local newspaper! She will also be volunteering for about 3-4 months.

I am hoping to get a picture of all of us, so when I do I will put it right here :)

I also wanted to mention how interesting the island is when the tourists come.  Wednesday is "ship" day and that is normally when the bigger cruise ships come and all of the tourists pack the beaches full.  It creates a whole different dynamic on the beach and I definitely missed the quiet beach that I had had the previous days!

I am often mistaken as a person on the ship and the Jamaican taxi drivers will ask, "Hey Blondie, you need a ride to the ship?" I will politley say no, but it is funny how quickly you can pick me out of a crowd, especially as you go further from the beaches.

Jamaica is also funny because there are some different food places but they also have KFC, Burger King, and Pizza Hut.  I wonder if they taste the same as the ones in America?  They are always packed full of people waiting to order food.  I also have found it really interesting that I haven't seen any McDonalds, they seem to be everywhere else!

Tonight for dinner we had leftovers which included, pork, rice (of course), potatoes, and green beans and carrots.  There definitely seems to be a trend of having carbs and rice with EVERY dinner. Not that I am complaining...yet :)

I am enjoying my time in Jamaica and can't wait to see what the rest of my time in Jamaica holds!