New family, new friends.

Wa Gwon!! (What's up?)

Our first two days in Jamaica have been very eventful! When we arrived on Friday, we were so tired after 12 hours of traveling, we basically ate dinner and fell asleep as soon as our heads hit our pillows! Saturday dawned cloudy, rainy, and extremely humid. Arriving on Friday allowed us to have one day to be "tourists". Taking advantage of our free time, we boarded a "taxi"(which was actually a minivan) and drove an hour into the mountains to a place called Mayfield Falls. The drive itself was such an education! We saw so many of the rural areas of Jamaica, that solidified the decision to come and offer ourselves to these people. The poverty level here is profound, and according to our taxi driver, Keith, the unemployment rate is about 40%. The larger homes are 2 rooms, the smaller the size of a closet. There is a lot of trash littering the roads, and fields. Further into the mountains, there is no running water or electricity. Some of the "larger" homes had huge tanks beside the homes that contained water, open at the top to collect rain water. We noticed many of the homes had graves (in tropical areas, graves are cement vaults above ground since the earth is made of sand). We asked Keith why this was, and he said that people "bury their dead in their land" to save money. All of the poverty aside, the country is absolutely breathtaking. The foliage and the landscape is a sight to behold! Climbing higher into the "bush", looking across swaying sugar cane fields and an occasional glimpse of a natural spring, this land is a testament to the glory of God!

Once we reached the Mayfield Falls, we walked down a huge hill into a small community where we were assigned a guide. Our guide, Michael, walked us over a bridge made of a few bamboo shoots thrown across the river about 20 feet in the air! We walked through the forest and sugar cane, and then entered the river. The water was SO COLD! It was mineral water, which is natural cold. We climbed 14 waterfalls and swam in 9 pools. The falls made natural spas and would massage your shoulders if you sat just right! When we were walking back to our taxi, Michael showed us many of the native plants and vegetation. One especially cool plant was the "shy lady", a small fern-like plant that folds itself when touched. If you ever come to visit Negril, be sure to experience this adventure!

Later Saturday evening, we had our Great Shape! orientation. We were finally able to meet all of the people who we will be working with! There are approximately 40 volunteers joining us this week. Jamaica is divided into parishes, like our states, and there are 4 clinics set up within this parish. We are at Cave Valley! We have a great crew working with us and are so excited to get started!

More soon.....Suse