Friday, July 24, 2008

Hello to all those I love and miss,

First off, I want to really thank all of you for being such a wonderful influence on me in my growth throughout the years. Each of you has shaped who I am and helped me to formulate my values, opinions, and direction in life. You have had a huge impact on me being here so THANK YOU! I am trying to rediscover the beauty of letter writing, so please feel free to write me letters and I will certainly write you back :) Of course, emails are always welcome and phone calls as well, although you would need to buy an international calling card to call me. I am also going to periodically be updating my blog much more than I will be sending out emails….at least that is the plan for now. So feel free to check on my blog every once in a while for some pics, stories, thoughts and please comment

Jamaica is beautiful. I feel like I am on vacation here and I often catch myself wondering how I ended up in this place that reminds me of a Fern Gully daydream. This has been the most exciting, challenging, and exhausting beginning to any adventure. With new beginnings, many questions arise in my mind about how I want to personally challenge myself through living simply, spiritually, and accompanying the people of Jamaica. I figure this will be a balancing act and will figure this out as my time here progresses.

I have officially been a resident of Jamaica for a week as of yesterday and boy has the week flown by! We have been very busy with the old volunteers getting acquainted with the area and our mission. I am going to be working in a mission called Devon Pen. It is one of the four missions that each of us is assigned to. I visited Devon Pen twice so far and met some of the children and their families. Jamaicans are very welcoming and feed you every opportunity they get as a way of hosting you in their house. I have had the most delicious mango, which is my latest addiction, and other dishes that are simply to die for.

I am trying to get used to the weather, the amount of walking, the food and the basics like driving, taking buses, and trying to understand Patois, which seems very far from an English dialect. I am so excited about this year, especially when I think of all of the adventures I will encounter, the relationships I will form, and the moments that will sometimes break my heart or make my day. I cannot wait to be accustomed to the land, know where I am going, and understand those I work with, but the old volunteers say this will come in due time.

The old volunteers have been really wonderful to us while we have been here. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for them to leave the people they have grown to love, respect, and appreciate. Through witnessing their goodbyes, I can see how much they mean to each family they have grown close to during their time in Jamaica. Many houses that we visit have pictures of the families with former volunteers. It is so beautiful watching how real and genuine their interactions are and I hope at the end of my year, I have accomplished half as much as them. They have such a strong bond in these communities and will be remembered forever. Boy do I have big shoes to fill!

Okay, so yes, I have a funny story to share (If you have stuck it out through this entire email, congratulations and thanks!)

We helped to run a camp in King Weston (another mission) with kids ranging from all ages. When I introduced myself, instead of hearing “Amber”, the kids conveniently heard “Hamberg”. From this, one of the little ten year old boys decided it would be much easier and much more amusing to call me “Hamburger”, which obviously spread like wild-fire amongst all of the little ten year old boys. So now I am Hamburger. Hi, nice to meet you. (Ry, I know you are loving this) But just wait, it gets better. Later in the week after a very long day at camp, I was exhausted and sitting with one of the boys who call me “Hamburger”. We had just rolled down a nice hill and successfully did not fall into the gully (yay!) Apparently while rolling, my sweaty, gross self must have rolled over some small seeds because as we sat at the bottom of the hill tired, dirty and now dizzy, the little boy pointed to my shoulder and exclaimed, “Hey, Look! There are seeds on the hamburger bun” haha Oh Jamaica, you make me laugh!

Bless,
Amber