PST Day 1

First things first... PST stands for Pre Service Training aka, the next 10 weeks of my life where I will hopefully develop the skills I need to get some good work done while I'm here.

Tonight marks the end of my first day in Jamaica and let me tell you, It has far exceeded my expectations.  This place is gorgeous. Our flight landed in Kingston today around noon and a good portion of the Peace Corps Staff and some current volunteers were waiting there to greet us with open, sweaty arms. We gathered around the large "Welcome" sign for a group photo and piled into a couple vans that took us to the PC headquarters in Jamaica.  There, we were greeted by more staff members and volunteers as they were putting the finishing touches on our reception luncheon.

The food was awesome. The meal consisted of chicken, fish, rice and beans and a few interesting sides.  I can't wait to move in with my host family so I can learn how to do some of this stuff in the kitchen. Lunch lasted quite some time and there was about an hour of waiting around afterwards before anything really happened. This especially was difficult for me because I like to keep busy and don't really like wasting time, but as I'm sure I will continue to learn, the Jamaicans have a pretty laid back attitude. With some time,  I'll become more comfortable with the timelessness of things.

Finally, the presentations began with formal introductions by our directors and supervisors. Fortunately we got a nice break from the intro's with an awesome performance by a local youth choir.  They sang some cultural favorites, and some reggae classics the whole group recognized and they hit each one out of the park. By the end of it, every one  of us, volunteers, staff members, directors were on our feet singing and dancing along. Sounds ridiculous but hey, its the peace corps, we're all at least a little bit crazy.

After the presentation we broke off into groups and rotated around a few stations that had been set up for us. At each station we did things like get our Red Strip allowance (at least thats what I used it for) picked up our new cell phones, filled out more paperwork (I swear it never ends) etc... It was all pretty well organized though, and didn't take too long. PST wrapped up with a tour of the PC office. Pictures and descriptions below...

The view from the top of the PC office. This place is legit. It has common areas for volunteers to come kick it at whenever they want. I library that would keep anybody busy for a long time. Some multi purpose rooms to do whatever. A shower. A kitchen. etc.... oh and a bangin view. We really wont be spending too much time here though. Some volunteers are a good 6 hour bus ride from Kingston. But still, nice to know its there.

The Show...

This is Linda showing the kids how to drink Red Stripe...

 Dinner at the Hotel Mayfair tonight in Kingston... Again consisting of fish, chicken, rice, beans, and some interesting sides... Im starting to pick up on a pattern. Ill be real excited when they switch it up with a little goat curry.

Another picture from the office tour. Calvin there is explaining how the fruit on the tree is poisonous unless picked and prepared a specific way... Sounds cool, I hope I get it right the first time...

Me outside my hotel room at the Mayfair. One more night here before I move in with host family number 1.

My first Red Stripe in country... Yes, it tastes waaaaay better here

Obviously we are having a blast. Along with all the fun though, the days have been long. I'm always a little tired but once I catch up and get settled Ill be fine.  Also, primarily for Mom and Grandma, I want you to know that my safety coordinator received an award last year for being the best one in the WORLD. She runs a tight ship.  It's still a little unnerving to see the security staff look for bombs underneath the vehicles as we enter the premises, but thats just standard procedure for ALL US embassy type entities. Rest assured, we are in good hands...

Much Love

Welcome to Miami

After 10 days of goodbyes, parties, packing, and more goodbyes, I have finally embarked on my Peace Corps journey. I arrived in Miami a couple hours ago without any issues. The whole flight took about 5.5 hours. I took the shuttle to the Crowne Plaza hotel and my roommate arrived shortly thereafter (surprise to me that I was even going to have a roommate, the PC loves surprises). But no big deal, his name is Mark too.

Mark and I met up with 5 other volunteers who arrived today. After a little meet and greet sesh we decided to hit the town with the intention of finding the best cuban food Miami has to offer.  We found a spot close to the hotel and after a few awkward minutes we all got to talking. Other than Mark, there's Ruby, who lives in LA. Jamaica will be her second stab at the Peace Corps thing. She was evacuated out of Eastern Europe last July after her training due to some political unrest in the region.  Then there's Linda from Oklahoma who, if I understand correctly, has been some type of counselor or therapist her entire career. Ann and David also joined us. David served as a volunteer in the PC 30/40 years ago and decided that he's ready for round two. I'm pretty sure David has traveled every continent in the world besides Antarctica, and to top it off, he has a PhD in Biophysics.... pretty cool dude to talk to. I have a feeling I'll learn a thing or two from him in the next two years.

I was the only one at dinner tonight who is working in the ag sector or, formally, the "Green Initiative". I'm looking forward to meeting some of my peers at staging tomorrow.

It's only 6 o clock on the west coast but I am exhausted! Time to call it a night as I have a busy day of "staging" tomorrow. I have a feeling staging will involve lots of tedious paper work but I cant wait to find out for sure!

Then, on Wednesday morning we all board a plane for Kingston.

Thanks for all the goodbye love this week. Below are some pictures from packing, fishing trip with grandpa, and the farewell dinner at moms... enjoy.