Jamaica

My brother recently went to Jamaica on a short-term mission's trip. I interviewed him to gain a little insight into traveling in Jamaica.  

Here is an edited transcript of our interview, told from his perspective: 

What you did: I spent a week in Jamaica with a team of other Americans from my church. We stayed at a school for deaf children near Mandeville, located in the mountains. We helped with work projects there and also visited New Hope Children’s Home in the mornings to help take care of the kids. 

Food: It wasn’t too different from American food. We ate lot of chicken and rice. The food was spicy. One day we had a cookout and we rolled out some dough and wrapped it around the end of a stick, and cooked it over an open fire. We pulled it off and put butter and jelly inside the hole left from the stick. It was amazing!

Weather: (First week of March) It was fantastic! Always the perfect temperature, enough clouds so that the sun wasn’t always beating on you. But there wasn’t so much clouds that is was an overcast day, and if there ever were too many clouds, a light misty rain would fall very gently and cool down the place and be gone in ten mintues. There was almost always a really nice breeze. The combination of rain, breeze, sun, and clouds made for really nice weather.

Sightseeing: The mountains are really beautiful, and the sunrise was amazing. We went to WS Falls and you could go swimming in a rock pool and the little fish were unphased by your presence. I enjoyed seeing the trees with unusual shaped trunks and twisty branches. There is also a zipline. 

Clothing: I recommend loose cargo shorts and a t-shirt. You want your clothes loose so that you can benefit from the breeze. The Jamaicans wore cargo pants and T-shirts, it really varied where ever we went. In the city the guys wore pants, shorts, and T-shirts, while the girls wore tight pants or skirts.

Why it is a great place to go: Because it has really really nice weather. The people there are all fun loving, easy going, and relaxed. 

Something that surprised me: The drivers. They drive fast. Most of the roads in Jamaca have one or two lanes and weave back and forth, up and down in the mountains. There were bumps and potholes, cliffs, trees, and fast moving vehicles. And despite all this the Jamaican drivers were unphased. They managed a stick-shift, a horn, and zipped past cars that were stopped in the middle of the road. They'd toot their horns as they went around a corner. They had really good faith in each other. If they saw a truck coming towards them in their lane, they might slow down a little but they had complete faith the truck would move over in time for them to zip by.  They toot their horns to say “hi.”  The thing I learned is that if you can drive in Jamaica, driving in America is a piece of cake.

Tip: Because the electricity in Jamaica is a little unreliable at times, and the water supply is based off of rainfall, you aren’t always guaranteed a shower. If you’re going to be doing work, bring a package of baby wipes to wipe down and stay fresh! 

Just for fun: Jamaica was the highest population of deaf people per capita. Go visit a deaf church. It’s a great experience.

Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf: http://www.cccdjamaica.org/