I made it!

Wagwan! (Jamaican for What’s up or How’s it going)

Our one day orientation (called Staging) was held in Atlanta and was basically what you would expect from such an event.  A couple of ice breakers to  get to know Peace Corps Jamaica Group 83 members (totaling 36 of us) mixed with a lot of  policies and discussions about what we expect as well as what is expected of us.  The notable part of this was really when we left the hotel, which was 2am, to catch our 7:10am flight. 

On account of the excitement of it all and in no small part thanks to the 3 hour time difference I had one day to adjust to (not to mention daylight savings time the weekend prior), I did not sleep at all that night.  We arrived at the airport at a little before 3am, only to haul our belongings (no small feat) to the completely deserted check in counter.  When they opened an hour later, check in went fairly smoothly and after security we were left with about a 2 hour wait before the flight.  I fear this is only the beginning of a long relationship with the “hurry up and wait” lifestyle. 

The super fun part is that as soon as we arrived in Jamaica (11:20 Jamaican time), the representatives who met us at the airport whisked us right off to the Peace Corps headquarters for a paperwork buffet.  By the end of this extravaganza I was seeing double.   We had a short break and dinner at the hotel before they took us back to headquarters for the 50^th anniversary celebration of Peace Corps in Jamaica. 

We were told several times what an honor it was that we were invited to this event, and specifically instructed to wear the nicest outfit we brought.  After meeting our 36 new best friends for the next two plus years and still going on no sleep we had to put on happy faces and mingle with I don’t even know how many more people.  Once the event began, things got a little fuzzy for me.  The ceremony opened in prayer, which I’m learning is a tradition I am going to have to get used to in this country whether it is a government facility or not.  Then several people spoke about the great relationship Jamaica and the US have and how wonderful that is, and how wonderful it was that we were here for the 50^th anniversary of it as well as the 50^th anniversary of Jamaica’s independence.  While all of this is very true, I don’t think anyone really paid attention until the entertainment came. 

Two beautiful ladies sang the national anthems of Jamaica and the US separately, and then a group of about 10 dapper looking Jamaicans took the stage.  They sang a smattering of classical to traditional Jamaican to gospel songs, and were a-freking-mazing!  Towards the end they drummed, showed us some Jamaican dance and even dragged a few people from the crowd onto the floor with them.  I could not have been more relieved that I escaped this fate.  They did however have all of us on our feet dancing and singing “One Love” by the end.  We even had another 30 or so minutes of mingling after that.  Maybe this sounds banal to you, but to have lived through it and knowing the state all 36 of us were in makes this fact unbelievable to me. 

Yesterday was the first day of actual training, and despite a full night of restful sleep most of us still had a hard time keeping our eyes open for the morning talks about the basics.  We had lunch in downtown Kingston and the afternoon sessions were shorter and more interactive, though.

I could give so many more details, but my time on the internet is limited since I haven’t been able to access it from the hotel.  We are meeting our host families for the next two weeks tonight after we get vaccinations and open our Jamaican bank accounts.  I promise future posts will be more interesting and well thought out, but I just wanted to get an update to everyone so you know what’s up in the life of Jamaican Brandi!  More time! (Later)

~B