Jenny and me in front of Peace Corps headquarters
From Peace Corps we made our way through the noisy, frenetic hustle and bustle that is Kingston. Jenny threw me in headfirst as we visited and bought vegetables from some of her people in the local market. The scene was a shock coming from idyllic and polished environs of the Florida Keys and Miami, but I kept up with jenny as I took in the craziness.
Taking a minibus around Kingston
Street life in Kingston
Kingston marketplace
Market woman
Later in the afternoon we made our way to Jenny's Peace Corps site, located about 45 minutes north of Kingston towards the interior of the country in the mountains. After fighting traffic out of town and dealing with the insane drive up the mountain roads it was nice to make it to Jenny's quiet community. It was great to see Jenny's place, and finally rest for awhile – we needed it for later that evening. About midnight we walked about a mile down the road to a “sweet sixteen” birthday party, and it was just beginning to pick up. It was unlike any other dance party that I've ever seen. After a crazed dance exhibition by a couple of women, an older woman halted the music to bless the party and the birthday girl – It was after 1:00 in the morning before the cake was cut and the party continued. The DJ, an important part of any Jamaican dance party, was Marcus, Jenny's boyfriend. He made the party interesting to say the least and I can say that I've never seen dance moves like I saw that night. I left a little after 5:00 in morning as the sun was rising, and the party was still going strong.
Jenny and the birthday girl.
Marcus on the mic, keeping the party going.
Some of the tamer dance moves.
Jenny works as a youth development volunteer in a school about 100 yards up the hill from her house. Most of her work is with literacy, information technology, and classroom murals. The next day Jenny took me to meet the students and teachers at her school.
Jenny and the mountains around her community
Students gathered for morning devotion
Students reciting the Jamaican pledge of allegiance
The next day we went to go visit with people in Manning's Hill, the community that Jenny first lived in, about two miles back down the road towards Kingston. Manning's Hill larger community with more businesses and people out in the streets, but far from her school.
A colorful “container” shop that sell basic food staples
Playing cricket in an open lot
Jenny and the chefs of Jenny's favorite restaurant in the Manning's Hill
Jenny and me eating outside at the restaurant
Girl behind her house as seen from the restaurant
Boy rolling a worn bicycle tire with a stick
Jenny walking through her community with the boys and their tires
One of the families that we visited
Jenny and Mickey, one Jenny's favorite people up the road from Manning's Hill
Waiting for fried chicken back in Jenny's community near her house and school
It was so great to see Jenny and her community, school, and Peace Corps experience. Soon we would doing more to see the rest of Jamaica with my friend Jeremy, who was coming the next day, but I had to make things a little more interesting. As I jumped over the fence to Jenny's school I crushed my ankle on the landing and sprained it badly. The next day my ankle was black and blue, but I managed to get around on some borrowed crutches and made it to the airport with Jenny's boyfriend, Marcus, to pick up Jeremy anyway.
Sprained ankle
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment