Tuesday, October 6, 2009

My best friend and I leaving the hotel on our way to my birthday celebration.



My second time climbing Dunn's River, this time with my brother and friend (the date is sooo wrong; it was actually my birthday (8/13).

Me with my family in Montego Bay at my Aunt and Uncle's house on my last night in Jamaica. (From left to right: my Uncle, my Cousin, her daughter and son, me, My Aunt, My brother and my other cousin).




My best friend that came to Jamaica to visit her family and for my birthday party in Kingston. we took pictures with a local dance crew called the "Gully Creepers".




The beach in Ocho Rios...


My best friend and I at a local club in Kingston.







Our farewell dinner at our dorm. We decided to cook all of our leftovers on our last night on UWI campus in Kingston. This is a little bit of everyone's cooking.



A photo at our farewell dinner with my classmates and our two Student liasons.


My classmates and I at a reception dinner where we met the Prime Minister of Jamaica. We just happened to be there at the same time as our farewell dinner and we were all dressed up so we crashed the party ;-)


All of my classmates with our two drivers and the managerial staff from JASL after our farewell dinner.




My classmate and I at our farewell dinner. I got so emotional and cried when I gave my speech...



We made it to the top of Dunn's River Falls! In Ocho Rios, Jamaica; affectionately called Ochie by the locals.




The sign that gave historical light to the beautiful, natural waterfall.


We stuck together and supported each other the entire time on the Falls. It was a steep and slippery climb but we finished together!



The Falls were the most beautiful place that we visited in Jamaica. everywhere we went, we had a reason to take picture after picture.








This is one of the few rooms at the clinic where people can come in for counseling, group therapy, testing, check-ups and other resources. I spent time answering phones to alleviate the high call volume; scheduled appointments, answered questions, etc...














A picture of us at our going away party at JASL. All of the clients came together to throw us a farewell party with an 'interesting' theme.






We participated in a campus radio interview that allowed us the opportunity to talk about the Jamaica Aids Support for Life organization, mission, strengths, needs, weaknesses, and what our project 'Speaking Volumes' entailed.







This is a picture of our bosses at JASL. They guided us through creating Speaking Volumes'. Speking Volumes is the book we created to solicit attention and funds to the disadvantaged populations served at JASL. We intervied the clients and transcribed those interviews ( a long and arduous process).






I took a photo with one of my favorite clients at JASL. "She" was transgendered and shunned from society and her family/friends because of her lifestyle. Luckily, she found refuge at JASL, like most of their other clientele. "She" was very handy and earned her keep by fixing things around JASL.








A photo of my classmates and I with Michael, an employee from the Montego Bay JASL location that took us out our last night in Montego Bay. We were on our way to Margaritaville after a long day of interviewing clients and transcribing interviews. My cousins house in Montego Bay. We stayed at my Aunt's house but my cousin invited us over for breakfast right before she took us to the beach on our last day in Montego Bay.

This was the view from the route bus on our way back to campus in Kingston.

"Driving a boat" in Montego Bay, Jamaica with my classmate and some locals at the public beach.
The wondeful breakfast buffet prepared by my cousin's housekeeper. We ate like Queens in Jamaica! Fresh food was in abundance.






On a route bus from Kingston to Montego Bay for Sumfest, a 3 day concert that featured different artists, both local and international. The bus was so crowded, it was definitely a fire hazard because they even had people sitting in the aisles, and worst of all, NO A/C!
This was the girls eating before we headed to Sumfest! The restaurant owner wanted to pose with us.





This is us walking to Sumfest, we got there early, which was good because it got very crowded the later it became.



This is a picture of one of the many artists featured on Reggae night. We only went the first night because we made a visit to the Montego Bay JASL location to conduct interviews with some of the clients in that parish.






My classmates sitting on the grass at Sumfest, watching the concert. It was outside and lasted all night, we were exhausted but we enjoyed the experience.
These are pictures of some of the cultural events that we witnessed while in Kingston. The first two photos are of a local Rastafari service that we walked to from campus.
A few of us with one of the Rastas at the service. He gave us some insight and background information about the Rastafari lifestyle, movement, and historical culture.

The Reggae Dance Championship was the Jamaican version of "So You Think You Can Dance". Local dancers competed against each other for the first place title.


This particular group was Japanese, they won 2nd place but they should have won first place. They danced like they were born in Jamaica!




Mello-Go-Round, another cultural event we attended. They showcased poets, storytellers, dancers, singers and actors from differnt parishes in Jamaica. They were the best of the best in their categories.