Hellshire, Beaches and my "Host Family"

I have spent the weekend moving in to a community called greater Hellshire, where I will spend my next two weeks of PST.  Friday was an exciting day, full of anticipation as we were anxiously awaiting the introduction of our respective host families. We spent the greater part of the afternoon with our Cross Cultural Coordinator reviewing and understanding cultural differences, do's and don'ts of a Jamaican household, like wear to hang your "unmentionables" after washing, and walking through a variety of situations that could potentially arise.  Finally, at about 5 o clock in the evening it was time to depart from Powell Plaza (named after Collin Powell, who is of Jamaican decent and is the place where many embassy workers live and meet) to go meet our new families.

Upon arrival in Hellshire we were instructed to gather on a cement pad that had some sort of frame structure around it. It looked eerily reminiscent of a cage.  Our host families were instructed to gather across the road next to one of the many community churches (fun fact, Jamaica has more churches per square mile than any other country). The scene looked like this...

All of us in the cage:                             

All of our families across the street by the church:

After each side had some time to check the other out, somebody from the cross culture team came over and handed us a strip of paper. Mine said "beenie man". Of course I had no idea who he was. The CC team explained that our host family had a strip of paper that included the other half of the pair. Some pairs were american (i.e., Bagels and Cream Cheese, Beyonce and Jay Z, PB and J etc). And others, like mine, were Jamaican. At the signal of the cross culture coordinator, we were to go mingle with the families and try to and find our other half. So we did. Within seconds, a young man approached me and said "what your's say?" I showed him my strip and he instantly started laughing. He said "ah mon! I knew it!"

Turns out my host family isn't really a family at all. Its a 26 year old biology teacher who lives alone. As you could imagine, we were both stoked.  We load up my stuff and he takes me back to his bachelor pad to get me all moved in.  Turns out, twenty-something year old men in the caribbean are concerned with a lot of the same things I am so there really wasn't a lack of discussion topics. I feel fortunate to get the opportunity to see Jamaica from the perspective of one of my peers for my first couple of weeks. Other trainees have been placed with more traditional families with rules, curfews, and 5 hour long church services. There are merits to both I suppose but I am happy to be in my situation.

We decided before bed on Friday that we were going to get up early on Saturday to hit the market back in kingston or "town" as it is referred to here. This way, I could get familiar with the taxi/bus system and experience my first market all in one shot. Wake up time was 5am and off we went.

The taxi system here is, well, nuts. They have no problem loading 6 people into a cab and it would appear to me that all lines painted on the road are considered optional. You see, Jamaica's infrastructure is suffering and as a result there are a lot of pot holes in the roads. In order to keep their vehicles operational, motorists will swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid the smallest holes. Not gonna lie, its a little scary at first but after a couple rides you get used to it. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE drives this way.

We made it safely to the market by 6am. By this time the temperature had passed 83 degrees and the humidity was in full effect (it is always hot and humid here, but its getting easier to cope with each day. I actually think I'm starting to like it). Jamaican markets are a crazy scene!  Alex showed me the ropes in bargaining and picking out the best produce.  All prices are verbally communicated and Alex explained to me that most vendors will try to hike up the price when they see me come through as an American. We spent some time discussing fair prices and practicing retorts in Patois when somebody tries to rip me off. 

The way I see it we did well. Looks like we have enough groceries to get us through the week. After navigating through the loud market crowds for about an hour we made our way over to a coconut stand and bought a couple coconuts for $50 JD a piece (about $.60 US). The guy at the stand cut a hole in the coconut so we could get to the water. It was a great way to refresh and replenish. 

With two full bags we boarded the bus again and headed back to Hellshire. Upon our return (about 9am) I noticed a lot of other trainees getting outside and starting their mornings with their new fams. 

The rest of the day for Alex and me was busy. We hung around the house for a while and cooked some food, then we headed to Spanish Town to meet his grandmother and cousins. We spent a few hours playing jamaican board games, drinking some beers and listening to the latest in dance hall and reggae music. After that we went to his aunt's for the evening. They were all so welcoming and on a few occasions even thanked me for being here. Her husband, Collin, and I chatted for a while and he said he's going to take me out one night while I'm here.  With the exception of having a rock thrown at me in Kingston, everybody has been very nice.

Today has been my first relaxing day since a left home a week ago. Alex and I decided to opt out of church when a girl he's been talking to invited us to the beach.... Why not? I'm sure we'll do church next weekend. Tamara came over around 9am and we all spent some time in the kitchen teaching me how to cook the national dish, Ackee and Salt Fish with bread fruit.  As krock would say, it was bomb.com!

We took our brunch down to the beach and spent most of the day there. I took a swim in the caribbean for the first time, and have a real nice sun burn to show for it.  Some of the other trainees were able to get away from their host families to join us. It was nice to catch up with them since moving in with the fams. We shared stories and enjoyed the view (Alex's place is a mile from here):

You can tell that this community is a very proud and hard working one. I like it here.  There's no doubt though that the Peace Corps is slowly weening us off our American lifestyles. We are no longer in the comforts of hotels and among our volunteer group ALL the time. We are training to be active, contributing, and gradually integrated members of Hellshire, living as the locals do.  Although we are away from some creature comforts, the living situation here isn't bad at all. We have electricity, running water (most of the time, it shut off for a couple hours today but we really didn't need it because we were at the beach), and Alex is one of the few "host families" with internet, let alone, wifi! Talk about living large right?! Peace Corps? how about Posh Corps? (thanks rik dog). In all seriousness though, we have been led to believe that our next town will be more rural with a living situation to match.  Good thing, cuz I am dying to use those solar panels that Lisa got me! Myself, along with the 6 other ag/environment volunteers will be moving to Woodford in two weeks which is about an hour away from Hellshire. I haven't met a person yet that's even heard of Woodford, which has me a little nervous. I'll be there for 7 weeks before being sworn in at the US embassy on September 2nd.

After a couple days in "real" Jamaica I'm understanding a little bit better about what the Peace Corps calls the "fish bowl" effect. People stare at me wherever I go, wondering what I'm doing outside of the gated resorts.  Its a curious stare more than anything else, nothing malicious or ill intended by any means, but I am a foreigner to the full extend of the word.

It's time to press my clothes and pack my man purse for training tomorrow (backpacks are for tourists). If the Gallo folks would please send me some pictures of the 4th of July tomorrow I would really appreciate it, especially if you were in them! Also, please say hi to the Graysons (they are coming right?) Miss you all.... thanks for reading