Four Days in Kingston...

  Kingston, Jamaica
Tuesday, August 19, 2008

As the intro says, the adventure has finally started. ;)

It is 6:47 p.m. in Kingston, Jamaica.  My stomach is full of rice, lentils and fruit sorbet (thanks to Eloine, my host mom), my room fan is three feet from my back (to deter both the mosquitos and the evening humidity) and a road map of Jamaica lies next to my laptop.  I am still finding it hard to believe that I am here. ;)

Between orientation in Georgia and today's activities, much has happened over the past two weeks.  Today, during a field trip to several NGO's in Kingston, I had the opportunity to visit an orphanage near downtown.  While there, one child saw my curly hair and took it upon herself to start to dread it.  Another was fascinated with the nail polish on my toes.  While embracing one, another sat on my hip.  It was an incredibly good moment, though brief, and one that saw me back at St. Philip's in Swaziland, spending time with the Thulasizwe, Ndoda, Fanana, Pahty....  I was all smiles. 

But, I have gotten ahead of myself.  ;)  

Dan (Fellow MA Student) and I During Orientation

First, orientation in Atlanta was both inspiring and challenging.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Beyond fieldtrips to the Carter Center and Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, 40 hours were spent in the classroom writing essays, discussing ethnorelativism and international relief work, meeting program directors and teachers (from both England and Jamaica in person or via video-conference), and preparing for the year of study ahead. 


My peers are worldly, funny, welcoming, smart, kind, and joy-filled.

More of the Crew During Orientation

 
There are eight of us in the Masters program and two undergraduates attending the University of Technology in Jamaica through a semester abroad program.  My roommate is a Canadian from the province of Alberta.  A retired teacher and mother of four, she is now pursuing a dozen-year dream of obtaining her Masters at 45.  I very much like her. The rest of the students range in ages, but are generally between 24-26.  Their international experience sets them apart from the typical twenty-somethings.  They are culturally-sensitive, focused, fun, confident and mature.  It has been awesome to get to know everyone in the program, thus far. 

Yesterday, we toured the University of Technology campus (where we will be taking classes Wednesday through Friday), and today, we visited our preliminary agency placements (where we will be working every Monday and Tuesday). 

The MA Crew

Initially, it was planned that I would be working with the Kingston Women's Resource and Outreach Center, but that is possibly going to change (as the job available may not be relevant to the fieldwork needed for a dissertation).  I am anxious to be settled in an agency, to start feeling like I have a home in another organization and to begin my fieldwork.  It should prove to be a very interesting and crazy ride over the next four months. :)


For now, several of us will be heading to Bull Bay and the famed Jamnesia Surf Shop this weekend.  Along with providing accommodations for traveling surfers (rooms, tents, etc.), Jamnesia also rents equipment and provides transit to all of the local surf spots ($5/RT bus ticket).  I am very excited about seeing more of the island.  For the most part, our field trips and in-country orientation activities have required that we stay within a 3 kilometer radius of our homes.  As we are living 6 kilometers from the ocean, it has been mildly frustrating to simply know (rather than see) that we have been surrounded by water these past four days.  ;)  This weekend, we will find out for ourselves that we are (indeed) on an island.  Woohoo! 

I do have regular access to email at home, so please feel free to write.  It would be great to hear from folks. 
I truly hope things are going well for each of you!  I will check back again as time allots.
Lots of love,
Heather