When the week started on May 20th I was looking forward to what was in store. My cousin was off on vacation so I wasn’t sure how I would be making it to Kingston. On the first day, I woke up drowsy. It seemed that the weekend had taken a toll on me (waking up so early and spending the day in the sun at Dunn’s River falls) then waking up early on Sunday to attend Church. Plus my period started so all of that just made me tired and unmotivated to plan the day. After eating breakfast my cousin prepared, I crawled back into bed and I slept the rest of the morning. I officially got out of bed around one in the afternoon. Then ate lunch and found my way under the sheets again for another nap. This time I got out of bed and stepped out on the verandah where the breeze was nice and cool. My cousin sat next to me and we talked, me with my very lethargic voice.

After six that evening my cousin’s wife returned from work. We decided we would go for a hike up the mountain. This has been a weekly thing for the family since I’ve been here in the last month. We are preparing to climb the famous blue mountains! So getting in tiptop shape is important. Apparently it takes roughly 4 hours to climb, so this is not a journey for the weak. We are all anxiously looking forward to it.

On Tuesday, I woke up early. I was placed on the bus at the Portmore shopping centre. Taking the bus to halfway tree by myself is not as scary as one may think. I found a single seat by the window and I watched the conductor as he called out, “ahf-e-chee” “ahf-e-chee” and how he spots potential passengers from afar and solicits them for the journey. Before the bus arrived on the toll road highway it was packed. Not long after, the bus arrived in halfway tree. When I got off the bus, I had to walk through crowds, avoiding eye contact with street vendors and taxi drivers alike. Normally on Tuesdays, I leave the YMCA early so that I can make it to the soup kitchen for 12pm but this time I decided to stay. At the end of the day, my Canadian friend, who volunteers there too decided we would go to Devon House. It was just a walk across the street. Yes I have been there before-to see, this time I was going to relax. We bought our ice cream, me the soursop flavor and him the devon stout. Then we found a bench in the park to sit and chat about our life in Jamaica so far and what we hope to do with the experience when we returned home. Three hours later were still chatting and picturing ourselves living in Jamaica. Just after five in the evening, my ride called and so it was time to say goodbye to Devon House. This day will be banked away in the file of treasured memories.

By Wednesday, I was back at YMCA. This time I arrived at 8:30 am with my cousin. I worked on a  presentation and when I arrived at my designated classroom, I had the children’s undivided attention as the video of Barack Obama which I chose to use started. I waited for my cousin when classes ended and he arrived shortly. We went into the plaza called Twin gates to purchase sneakers, in preparation for Blue Mountains. The teachers are happy because Thursday is Labour Day, so no school for them. I’m looking forward to the long weekend myself!

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