Integration

Today completes the first part of Pre-Service Training and the start of phase two. (Not that there was really a phase one) By that I mean... we have gotten the first of many shots, ate a lot of great food, socialized with the fellow trainees and had loads of general information provided along with tons of handouts. (There is so much to read!) We have had a wonderful welcome from our staff members, members of the community in different performances and even the Ambassador at a breakfast the other day. But that's not why I packed up my life and boarded a plane to come to Jamaica.

Tonight was. I met my first host family where I will be living for the next 17 days. We all did. We boarded our PC bus and drove out to a smaller sized town (which I won't be mentioning in my blog for security and safety reasons) outside of the capital. We played a game where the 30 of us volunteers were handed a piece of paper that a word on it. Mine was Bagel. The goal is to wander through this group of strangers and find the one thats word goes with yours. Instantly when I saw the word Bagel, I thought Cream Cheese. Easy enough. Now I just have to find Cream Cheese man/woman. Eventually, I did.

I met Devon, a man in his 40s. We gathered up my bags together and walked to his house where fortunately I was just around the corner from the Church where we all started our little meet and greet. It was hot and I was sweating! I was embarassed to be going into his house with 3 large bags, a stack of PC material in my arms, a PC issued medical kit AND my computer bag but he didn't seem to miss a beat. He helped me right into my room, chit chatting the whole time in Patois where I understood every third word.

Patois is its own language but for those who know nothing about it, its derived from several of the other love languages, mostly english with a twist and lots of slang and metaphors. On top of it, they say it real fast, like any native would.... So, I am dripping in sweat, tired and slightly overwhelmed and I looked at him, smiled, and asked him to slow down please. He smiled back and said, you sound just like Patrick. Patrick is a former Peace Corps Volunteer this family has hosted before. They come with great recommendations, says the Homestay specialist.

Mind you, I have been in the country for less than a week, learned VERY LITTLE patois so far... But, what better way to learn than to immerse yourself . I get the tour of the house and then we sit down for dinner. I had Chicken Curry, Irish potatoes not to be confused with Sweet Potatoes... I clarified... and boiled green bananas. We are sitting down discussing stuff and then the lady of the house comes home. Her name is Jackie.

Jackie is a wonderful lady with a nice smile whose accent I can make out a little better than his. She just got off work. He works for a school as a security guard and she works at an offsite horserace betting facility. Our discussions were broad and quite superficial but Im sure since we have the weekend off, our relationship will continue to develop.

As usual, when I am typing out these things for the world to see... I am sleepy. I have stuff to read this weekend but fortunately have no plans set in stone yet. This probably wont be posted for a little while but I will keep a digital journal and post when I can.
In-a-da-strong. (Say it real quickly together)

Good night to you too :)

(I wrote this last night. Turns out my host family has the internet. Jackie is excited because she wants me to show her how to use her computer.)