There are two groups on this trip - 12 music therapy students and 12 music education students. On Friday, the music therapy students went on the St. Mary's hike and the music education students went to a nearby beach. Yesterday we swapped.
In Jamaica, many of the beaches have been purchased by the government and sold to the U.S. or Spain to become resorts, or the government reopens them with a fee. An average fee would be $6 per person, which is actually half a day's wages, so it's really a tragedy when this happens. About a mile from Boston Bay, however, is Winnifred Beach, which is still public. Around noon, the music therapy majors walked over to Winnifred for some lunch and relaxation. Unlike Boston Beach, which is rocky so we have to wear shoes, Winnifred was sandy and the water crystal clear. We took snorkeling gear from Great Huts with us, which was a good decision. I went out to the reef with another girl named Aimee. We saw all sorts of fish including Tiger and Angel Fish. A Rasta was out there standing on a rock and Aimee started asking him some questions as to what kinds of fish we were seeing. He went back to shore to get his goggles and showed us a sting ray when he came back. We were going to go a little farther to see the sea turtles, but our group was getting ready to leave, so we headed back to shore.
Once back at Great Huts, a lot of us went down to Boston Beach for some cliff diving and surfing lessons. A lot of locals hang out at Boston Beach and are happy to teach American girls how to surf. One local, Antoni, said he would teach me, but it would take an hour, and we still had to get dinner before drumming at 7, so I said maybe another time.
Since we begin work today (Monday), we spent time going over our groups and session plans for our work. I am in a group with Alice, Kristen, and Heather for the entire week. Today, we will go to the School of Hope, which I'm really looking forward to. Tomorrow and Wednesday, we will go to the infirmary. Thursday we will be back at the school. Should be a fun day!
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