Goodbye 2008

so the past few weeks have gone by in whirl and i have failed to share them with you. :( but fear not this is a quick recap of my holidays in jamaica! yay!

Gina came to visit: Gina and i were camp councilers together at camp perkins all the way back in 2004. we haven't seen each other since that lovely summer but we've stayed in touch via facebook and emails from time to time. well it just so happened that she had some vacation time and some extra cash so she decided to come visit jamaica and excape from winter in the states. she stayed with me for a few days and i took her all around my area, dunns river, scotchies, turtle beach, flavors... all places you too can explore with me if you ever want to visit, i love playing tour guide! gina, it was fabulous to have you here, good luck with the big move and grad school!!

Laura Facey: while gina was still here we had the pleasure of seeing an art exhibit being held by the famous Laura Facey, who is the artist of the statue Redemption Song at Emancipation Park in Kingston. we got to meet her and view her studio and see all her gorgeous new art work. it was so inspiring and quite an honor to meet her! i posted an album on facebook, i hope you can view it here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2185416&l=00164&id=15604815

Grand Market: christmas eve here in jamaica is kind of like new years eve in the states. everyone gets together for big parties and celebrations. so to experience some real christmas eve fun me and a few pcvs in the area went to grand market, which is this huge street party that's held every year on christmas eve. grand market begins with everyone shopping and buying the things they need for christmas. vendors line the streets, selling pretty much anything you'd want to buy and cooking heaps of jerk chicken to eat. in addition to street vendors, djs come and set up huuuge sound systems along the streets. when i walked in front of a massive wall of speakers i could feel the music pumping straight through me! as the night moves along the streets get more and more crowded til you can't hardly move. there are people eeeverywhere dancing and moving to the music from the sound systems. my friends and i stayed late into the night but when we left the party seemed like it was still going strong. here's some pics to show you the experience:

the beginning of night

one of the MANY giant sound systems

Christmas Day: christmas morning i woke up to the sound of carolers walking down our street singing hark the herold angle sing. what a lovely way to wake up on christmas morning! i went to church with nurse and shavan and i got to read the morning prayer for the faithful (it's a catholic thing). the church was packed, over 130 people were there and i was so nervous but i did fine. after church we came home and i helped nurse make the christmas dinner. we spent all afternoon getting ready and then sat down together to enjoy the fruits of our labor. we had ham, lamb chops, real salad, potato salad, corn on the cob, home made macaroni and cheese, and christmas cake that i helped bake a few days before christmas. i was completely stuffed and ended the day with a good long sleep!

Nurse making christmas cake

Some of the ingredients that go into christmas cake, including rose water, browning, and white rum!

The manger scene at church

My church

Me and Desmond, one of the alter boys at church

The sorrel (a jamaican christmas drink) was too sweet for Nurse!

McInerneys come to Jamaica: lucky me to have mooore visitors here in jamaica! my uncle bill, aunt linda, liz and ashley came down to escape the cold chi-town winter. they let me join them for the weekend at their resort where i was completely spoiled with endless food, drinks and HOT water!! lol! the resort had a ginourmous pool and a water park so we spent lots of time in the sun and water. my tan is looking much better now ;) while i was there we went on a tour of the Great House at Rose Hall which is the site where the White Witch once lived. people say its still haunted by her ghost! we drank a witch's brew in the dungeon of the house and got to see all the rooms where she once murdered each of her three husbands before she too was murdered by one of her slaves. scary stuff, but the house was gorgeous. here is an album i made on facebook of all the pics of the house and some of the resort that we stayed at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2188902&l=06746&id=15604815 the album also includes pics from the grand gala show we saw at the resort. they had a steel drum band playing and lots of performers including dancers, extreme limbo, a fire eating/breathing lady, and lots more crazy acts. i had a fantabulous time with the mcinerneys, thank you for sharing your vacation with me and spoiling me over the weekend, i already miss you!

New Years Eve: honestly i didn't do much for new years eve, i wasn't in the mood to go out and celebrate. so me and two other pcvs got together, splurged a little at the super market on food and drinks, and stayed in for the new year. we watched silly movies and talked and laughed all night. it was nice to just chill and enjoy the company to welcome the new year.

and so we say goodbye to 08 and hello to 09. i can't believe it but tomorrow i will have officially been here in jamaica for 6 months already! time really does fly. can't wait to see what the year has in store for me. i'm wishing you all the best for a great start to the new year and good luck at keeping those new years resolutions. ;)