March 3, 2017: Day 1

I woke up to find that my cab driver left me. So I had to get a second cab but once I got to the airport I was on time which was a relief. Checking in went smoothly and we spend most of the day in the air. Officially meeting everyone was happening which eased my tension and nerves. We also got to meet the student guide Odaine and some other students that we would be seeing throughout our time in Jamaica. The evening dinner was a little tense for me since I had to apply the knowledge I had previously read about Jamaica to real situations. Reading information on Jamaica definitely allowed me to be aware of my thoughts and words more consciously. I was very excited to go out on the town with Odaine, Natalia, Asha, and the group. We went to a party at Pier 1 and it was out of this world with life, music, and dancing. Everyone was in tune to the music and dance battles were happening on either side of me. Guys were constantly trying to get our attention and time all night. I wasn’t tired but my feet were hurting so bad that I couldn’t fully enjoy my time out. So I asked if we could leave at 2am and Odaine said maybe at 3am since everyone has to be ready. I asked others to see how they were feeling and most of them said they were ready to leave but I didn’t want to ask to leave again. My feet felt like they were going to crack and break off but we didn’t get ready to go until 4am. Even then they couldn’t find the bus driver so we waited. All the other girls were having a great time talking to guys that wanted to get their numbers and even at 4am the place was lively. Finally we realized the bus was sitting right in front of us the whole time and got home which was currently at the off campus dorms. I had a great time seeing everyone dancing and not being self conscious about it. I am used to American culture and how everyone is self conscious of dancing but this is apart of Jamaica’s culture. And it is beautiful.

March 4, 2017: Day 2

In the morning we had breakfast and a lecture at the University of West Indies (UWI). We learned about the history of Jamaica and many Jamaicans are prone to strokes due to the European ancestry combined with the Jamaican diet. After the lecture we went to the Rasta Village. This was a wonderful and enlightening experience to hear words of guidance from a Rasta. We had to cross a river that was very low but the way he explained the river was beautiful. “Water is a reflection of ourselves since the only non-fluid part of our bodies is our mind. We are mostly made up of water so when you walk through the river think of the river as us and think how beautiful you are.” I had never viewed water in this way before but it opened up my mind with how they view the world. Any knowledge I had of Rasta was no comparison to the truth during this trip. Being Rasta just means having a personal state of mind change and a journey of the individual for being one with the earth and yourself. Ganja is used for conversations mostly and personal healing and they wanted to share their lives in order to break the negative media portrayal of them. They played drums for us and allowed us to try to play as well. It was amazing to witness.They were truly open people and wanted to share love and acceptance while breaking down the corrupted government with these things. That night me and a few others had dinner with Dr. Key.

March 5, 2017: Day 3

Had breakfast but got up to late to attend church this sunday. After they did get back we got ready for the trip to Negril. We got to see the rich countryside and how different the styles of houses are. I was still excited since it was only the third day but I was also tired. We went to Margaritaville where it was a restaurant and bar on the beach. Most of the day was tanning and going in the water with the other girls. I won a free margarita that I gave to Emily and Adrie my roommate. There was a trampoline that we went on. Most of the girls went on a glass boat ride for snorkeling but I stayed behind to save money. They came back later than we needed to be able to go to Rick’s Cafe. I really wanted to be able to go to Rick’s but I was also really tired from the long day. They stated that the boat ride was a waste of money. The ride back was longer than getting to the beach. We stopped at a pharmacy store on the way back and I finally got a towel for showering. After getting dinner we ate at the hotel on me and Adrie’s patio. We went to bed early in order to get up early for the Women’s Center.

March 6, 2017: Day 4

We had a morning lecture with Dr. Stewart Dickson on Counseling Skills. After the lecture we went to the Women’s Centre to work with the girls. I was very nervous since I usually am awkward with new people let alone young people. I wanted them to like me but most of the girls I think were also nervous too since at first they just wanted to talk amongst themselves. My group presentation with Adrie and Tetsuya was the first to go. Tetsuya did a great job and the girls loved his humor. I was very nervous but did not have a panic attack like usual and kept it together even though I had to read off of my note book. I wanted to do a good job on the presentation for the girls since I believe they needed to know about self-esteem. We were not just the first to present but the only and we all introduced ourselves. They got their own workbooks on self-esteem and we did a few activities in them. After we left we just went back to the room and a few of us went out on the strip to find food and shopping. I also had a drink at the bar that was attached to the dorms we stayed at with one of the girls.

March 7, 2017: Day 5

We had a lecture in the morning which would be the case every morning excepted on Thursday March 9th. Breakfast was cooked by a single lady that the professor knows. Her food is always fantastic. Me and Emily rave about the Festival. The lecture was about substance abuse and Georgia Rose was the speaker. She showed us Reggae songs that glorified weed and wanted to educate other Jamaicans that weed is a drug. They tend not to listen to her lectures when she tries to speak about it since it is widely not considered a drug there. The lecture was very informative as usual and then we had lunch. We went to the Women’s Centre and Shannon had her presentation along with two others. Each presentation was packed with activities that they did in their workbooks as well as with each other. The girls enjoyed each one though and we also got to interact with the girls more. After, we went to the small beach that was right in front of the dorms. I also got more Jamaican currency since I was running out.  There was an incident with a student that went on a bus ride with the bus driver that the Professor knew well but it took a long time for her to come back. This caused some worry but was quickly satiated when the bus driver was still making her rounds for the UWI students.

March 8, 2017: Day 6

In the morning we had a lecture on social work with Melissa McHayle. She talked about the programs and resources available for children and adults and the processes to receive them.  It was also International Women’s Day and many women came to speak to the girls. Some of the parents of the girls also came for the ceremony. One of the teachers at the Women’s Centre sang and Dr. Key also spoke. It was really heart wrenching when the topic of domestic violence came up in a speech. That is when I had the hardest time with culture shock. I was reminded that these young girls could have been subject to abuse and not all of them got pregnant due to carefree intercourse. I had to remind myself that we were here for them and that must count for something no matter how little. Afterwards we had the rest of the day free and went to the small beach. I was troubled the rest of the day from the realization and shock I went through during the ceremony. This did not ruin my time though and the group set up a trip to the Luminous Lagoon. This lagoon was supposed to have glowing algae but the time that we went it was not glowing much. Even though we wasted our money for this it was a fun trip with the Professor and the group. I wanted to stay in Jamaica with the Women’s Centre longer than planned but our time was coming to a close which was sad.

March 9, 2017: Day 7

This was our last day at the Women’s Centre and we went in the morning. The last two girls did their presentations while Dr. Key sat with the parents. We did many activities in the workbooks that they had and Emily’s activity was an interactive positive self-esteem activity that all the girls loved. Emily took a picture with them all lined up which was amazing. We also got to see their babies in the nursery. We had were supposed to follow around a student in the afternoon but it was their Sports Day so all the students were either playing soccer or hanging out. We hung out at the beach before we had to go back for Dr. Key’s lecture to the student body. She wanted us there for support but not everyone came I don’t think. I was really tired from being constantly on the go but I needed to be their for her lecture. I also needed to get an interview with a UWI staff member for a separate paper assignment. Dr. Key did an amazing job with her presentation and many of the students had questions in regards to the United States. They wanted to know how they could make other Jamaicans come to culture events to get them more aware also. I went to bed early with my roommate instead of going down to the bar with the other girls and Odaine to hang out. I wanted to have more bonding time with them but I also needed to get up in the morning.

March 10, 2017

In the morning we went to Doctor’s Cove for the beach and it was so beautiful. Me and Adrie rented goggles and the reef below was phenomenal. I also found a necklace in the Ocean under the water trampoline. It is usually really hot outside everyday so I spend all my time in the water and it was relaxing. I didn’t want to believe we would be leaving in tomorrow. We left the beach and got a tour of the Rose Hall Plantation. The history of this plantation was surprising and creepy. It was a beautiful placement of land surrounding the house and after the tour we went to a flea market. I had used the last of my Jamaica dollars there. We had a wonderful goodbye dinner with the students and faculty of UWI.

March 11, 2017

This was the day that we said goodbye to Jamaica. The plane ride was long and everyone slept on the plane. I can not sleep on planes so I had to play games on my phone the whole way there. In Atlanta we waited for our connecting flight and Emily had a happy meltdown talking about how much she loved Ellen DeGeneres. I was not ready to go home but I did grow and learn a lot.