Settling In JA style

Waapm (Translation: What's happening)? Well I'll tell you what's happening here! Our second day of orientation was hilarious. We were being taught how to understand more Patois and were asked to write skits to perform in front of all the students. Anita and I were selected to present our groups skit and to see us speak Patois gave everybody a good laugh. We also had to write a love poem about a door! I figured I'd attach a video so you can see how ridiculous Patois sounds coming from a non-JA. The speaker is from Trinidad, and for the life of me her name is evading me but she obviously has a leg up on us! All CARICOM accents are pretty different but they somewhat resemble each other and they can put on a Jamaican accent much better than we can!


We were served a very traditional lunch by UWI and we were able to sample some very different foods. We had Ackee and Saltfish, Jerk Chicken, Roasted Breadfruit, and a Slaw Salad. The food here is really good but most of the time I don't have a clue what I am eating, perhaps it's for the better! Truth is if you complement anything with a local Red Stripe it's always better!

So our brokers Jason & Jennine got us hooked up with apartment number 1 which totally blew our minds. We officially moved in on Friday after spending the early evening with Scott & Kim's beautiful daughters playing Qwarkle (board game) and eating pasta! Anita & I bought the Genzer's something to show our appreciation for their hospitality; I got them Wesconn T-shirts so they can support our school abroad! Seeming how they have lived in Gabon, Poland, and Zambia, WCSU can get some serious representation.

We called Ricard our taxi driver and he picked us up from Scott's with all of our heavy bags, brought us to a grocery store to grab some Red Stripe and then brought us to our new home for the year! Figured we might as well move in and celebrate while doing it! For a whole album of photos of our apartment check out FB, but this is the outside of our New Kingston high-rise. And check out our rocking view of the Blue Mountains. Those mountains are where the infamous JA coffee comes from which by the way we picked up today from the grocery store; mmmm so good. Our broker Jason came over Friday evening to give us the low-down on JA nightlife which was very informative and it sounds like we are about to have the year of our lives. Kingston is known as the nightlife hub for Jamaica. The word is there is something to do every night. Kingston is home of Dancehall, Ska and Reggae music; we can hear it from our apartment pretty much all night long. You will also hear other island music like Soca from Trinidad which is considered "Soul Calypso". The music down here is meant to dance to, I should probably learn how to dance. I plan on learning how to cook Jamaican food so maybe I can get lessons from the lucky person who has to deal with me in the kitchen. After a long day of moving and unpacking it was time to go to sleep. This is just the start of my first weekend in Kingston.