Friday, June 11, 2010
Day Two - Our Free Day
Due to sheer exhaustion last night, I didn’t give a great description of exactly where I am. Great Huts is an eco-resort owned by an American doctor. We are in Botson Bay, near Port Antonio, which is on the northeastern coast of Jamaica. Great Huts is comprised of about 15 tents, huts, towers, etc., and Lindsay, Aimee, Jenn and I are staying in Kaya Tent. Tent is no exaggeration. Doors consist of flaps, ceilings consist of bamboo rods and palm leaves, the floor is made of sand, and our box springs are a bunch of rocks cemented together. I guess my internal conflict about whether I needed to bring hangers for the closet was a waste of time.
There are many things that I haven’t done, but much to my surprise, waking up to a rooster call is one of them. Until now. Between the huts are mesh cages housing roosters, guinea pigs, parrots, etc. After a sweaty but surprisingly good sleep, I woke up at 6 to find the sun already shining. I grabbed my yoga mat and water bottle and headed over to the open room above the kitchen where we will be drumming each night. The parrots in the cage along the wall were lively this morning, and my downward dog was met with much approval: “Hello,” “Hellooo,” “Hell-o.” Needless to say, they have a pretty limited vocabulary.
After I worked up quite a sweat (it’s not hard with what feels like 100% humidity), I changed into my suit and headed down to the beach for some swimming. A few people were already down there, so I jumped right in. The water was the perfect temperature. I let myself float for a bit, rocking side to side in the calm waves. I explored a little, too, and discovered two “whirlpools” made by the rocks. Lindsay joined me soon, and by that time, I had also discovered (although it was hard to miss..) a giant rock formation with stairs leading up 30ish feet to a sign reading “Jump at own risk,” and a cement diving board. Jump I did. Lindsay and I are working on a way to get pictures of each other jumping off, so look for those soon. Don’t worry, the local doing back flips off the board told me the water was plenty deep and it was safe to jump.
After two jumps and about a gallon of salt water up our noses (neti pot to the extreme), we headed up to the communal shower, which consists of two shower heads and encircled by bamboo. We checked our modesty at the flap and got clean. After a breakfast of toast, tea, watermelon, and papaya, the music therapy students (12 out of 24.. the other 12 are music education students) took a tour of the Great Huts grounds and the village of Boston Bay. We got some sweet sour sap juice (a natural relaxer and great thirst quencher - just think slightly creamy lemonade) and headed over to the town beach, which was a two minute walk away. In those two minutes, we spanned the area of the entire village, which includes 4 jerk stands, a grocery store, a recording studio, an ice cream stand, and “Dis Krazy Hype Bar” (Lindsay and I have been practicing our Jamaican accent with this phrase - “Dees krazee hype bah, mon”).
Next, Lindsay and I decided to find a nice place to read some of the books we were assigned, so we headed up to the cliff where there are seats overlooking the sea. We were really trying to take it all in, but just couldn’t. It’s hard to believe we are actually here surrounded by all this beauty.
Surprisingly, I started to get hungry, so headed out with Kristen and Alice to get some lunch. They were going out to get phone cards at the grocery, and we stopped at one of the stands on our way back. The two girls had chicken, and I had vegetables, rice, and beans. The veggies were sauteed onions and tomatoes and something that looked like chard, but was more spicy. I asked what it was, but couldn’t understand what he actually said it is. I only heard that he said it was only found in Jamaica. Very good, though.
We have free time until 3pm. If it doesn’t rain, we plan to go for a hike up a mountain to a coconut plantation. It’s a little cloudy now, but I think we will still be able to go. I’m looking forward to trying some coconut water, because it is more hydrating than regular water.
Think I'd like to take a short nap in one of the hammocks before we go hiking. Probably won't write more tonight. Tomorrow we are going on a longer hike. Should be fun!
There are many things that I haven’t done, but much to my surprise, waking up to a rooster call is one of them. Until now. Between the huts are mesh cages housing roosters, guinea pigs, parrots, etc. After a sweaty but surprisingly good sleep, I woke up at 6 to find the sun already shining. I grabbed my yoga mat and water bottle and headed over to the open room above the kitchen where we will be drumming each night. The parrots in the cage along the wall were lively this morning, and my downward dog was met with much approval: “Hello,” “Hellooo,” “Hell-o.” Needless to say, they have a pretty limited vocabulary.
After I worked up quite a sweat (it’s not hard with what feels like 100% humidity), I changed into my suit and headed down to the beach for some swimming. A few people were already down there, so I jumped right in. The water was the perfect temperature. I let myself float for a bit, rocking side to side in the calm waves. I explored a little, too, and discovered two “whirlpools” made by the rocks. Lindsay joined me soon, and by that time, I had also discovered (although it was hard to miss..) a giant rock formation with stairs leading up 30ish feet to a sign reading “Jump at own risk,” and a cement diving board. Jump I did. Lindsay and I are working on a way to get pictures of each other jumping off, so look for those soon. Don’t worry, the local doing back flips off the board told me the water was plenty deep and it was safe to jump.
After two jumps and about a gallon of salt water up our noses (neti pot to the extreme), we headed up to the communal shower, which consists of two shower heads and encircled by bamboo. We checked our modesty at the flap and got clean. After a breakfast of toast, tea, watermelon, and papaya, the music therapy students (12 out of 24.. the other 12 are music education students) took a tour of the Great Huts grounds and the village of Boston Bay. We got some sweet sour sap juice (a natural relaxer and great thirst quencher - just think slightly creamy lemonade) and headed over to the town beach, which was a two minute walk away. In those two minutes, we spanned the area of the entire village, which includes 4 jerk stands, a grocery store, a recording studio, an ice cream stand, and “Dis Krazy Hype Bar” (Lindsay and I have been practicing our Jamaican accent with this phrase - “Dees krazee hype bah, mon”).
Next, Lindsay and I decided to find a nice place to read some of the books we were assigned, so we headed up to the cliff where there are seats overlooking the sea. We were really trying to take it all in, but just couldn’t. It’s hard to believe we are actually here surrounded by all this beauty.
Surprisingly, I started to get hungry, so headed out with Kristen and Alice to get some lunch. They were going out to get phone cards at the grocery, and we stopped at one of the stands on our way back. The two girls had chicken, and I had vegetables, rice, and beans. The veggies were sauteed onions and tomatoes and something that looked like chard, but was more spicy. I asked what it was, but couldn’t understand what he actually said it is. I only heard that he said it was only found in Jamaica. Very good, though.
We have free time until 3pm. If it doesn’t rain, we plan to go for a hike up a mountain to a coconut plantation. It’s a little cloudy now, but I think we will still be able to go. I’m looking forward to trying some coconut water, because it is more hydrating than regular water.
Think I'd like to take a short nap in one of the hammocks before we go hiking. Probably won't write more tonight. Tomorrow we are going on a longer hike. Should be fun!
Where I went cliff diving
Here's the outdoor cold water shower I shared with 10 girls
Main entrance of Kaya Tent
Inside Kaya - that's the bed Lindsay and I shared
The main (and only) street in Boston Bay
I realized that I never wrote about the coconut plantation hike, so here are some pictures:
Lindsay and I with our freshly cut coconuts
The trek up to the coconut plantation was hot, humid, and steep, but very cool!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Is This Love?
Greetings from Jamaica! We arrived in our town of residence, Boston Bay, just before dinner time this evening, which was a welcome site after traveling for 15 hours. Lindsay and I arrived in Montego Bay (appropriately, the airport was playing Bob Marley - see blog title) a little after 10:30 local time. We met up with Eric and Toni, along with another student, Jenn. We hung out in the restaurant/bar outside the airport and waited for the remaining 22 members of our group. Finally, around 2pm, we boarded a huge van and made our way across the northern coast of Jamaica. With rows four people across, we drove 120 miles in four hours and finally found ourselves at Great Huts.
After taking our things to our “rooms,” we headed to “main street” for some dinner. Jerk chicken was discovered in Boston Bay, and the main street consists of four or so huts serving jerk chicken, pork, rice and beans, and vegetables. Some locals were having karaoke night down the street, but for the most part, the JAFSP students and restaurant workers were the only people around. After dinner, we reconvened for the ground rules, and then it was off to bed for some, and back up town for others (I heard the word “ice cream” being tossed around quite a bit..). As for me, I brushed my teeth next to a lizard and am just about ready for bed. Since I have to keep a journal for the trip, I am hoping to use the journal and blog as one in the same.
Tomorrow, we have a free day. I plan to get up at 6 (the sun rises at 5...) and do some yoga followed by swimming at the beach. We have typical orientation stuff, like getting to know our surroundings, but for the most part, we are free to spend our time as we wish. Since we just finished finals, Lindsay and I will need to spend some time getting more acquainted with our course materials. Also, we will take a tour of a coconut plantation at 3pm.
I already can’t wait to buy noni juice (a natural immunity booster, very expensive in the US, but cheap here) and to check out the local Rasta restaurant, Ital. Rasta food is very conservative (no salt, no meat, etc.), and this restaurant serves that style accompanied by garlic and seasonings so you may flavor it to your liking.
More information tomorrow. Traveling coupled with finals, lack of sleep, and the heat make for a sleepy girl.
After taking our things to our “rooms,” we headed to “main street” for some dinner. Jerk chicken was discovered in Boston Bay, and the main street consists of four or so huts serving jerk chicken, pork, rice and beans, and vegetables. Some locals were having karaoke night down the street, but for the most part, the JAFSP students and restaurant workers were the only people around. After dinner, we reconvened for the ground rules, and then it was off to bed for some, and back up town for others (I heard the word “ice cream” being tossed around quite a bit..). As for me, I brushed my teeth next to a lizard and am just about ready for bed. Since I have to keep a journal for the trip, I am hoping to use the journal and blog as one in the same.
Tomorrow, we have a free day. I plan to get up at 6 (the sun rises at 5...) and do some yoga followed by swimming at the beach. We have typical orientation stuff, like getting to know our surroundings, but for the most part, we are free to spend our time as we wish. Since we just finished finals, Lindsay and I will need to spend some time getting more acquainted with our course materials. Also, we will take a tour of a coconut plantation at 3pm.
I already can’t wait to buy noni juice (a natural immunity booster, very expensive in the US, but cheap here) and to check out the local Rasta restaurant, Ital. Rasta food is very conservative (no salt, no meat, etc.), and this restaurant serves that style accompanied by garlic and seasonings so you may flavor it to your liking.
More information tomorrow. Traveling coupled with finals, lack of sleep, and the heat make for a sleepy girl.
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