Madeline Jane Photography

This week was a blast!  One evening I went to a birthday party for a set of twins and experienced the love and laughter these people have for one another.  And boy do Jamaican’s know how to throw a great birthday party, trick candles and all!

I went over to a friend’s house for dinner with her family and learned how to play dominoes.  We carried on into the night under a make shift picnic shelter strung with dim Christmas lights and a single light bulb.  I’m no good at dominoes but adore the time spent with that family.

Speaking of family, my Dad and sister are here this week serving in Harmons.  They flew in a day early and I surprised them by being at the hotel when they arrived.  The past two days with them have been wonderful and it has been so much fun introducing them to all the great Jamaicans I’ve been living with the past 7 weeks!

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I feel like I say this all the time but it was another gorgeous week in Jamaica!  With no American team here I had a lot of time to read and explore more of Harmons with some great Jamaicans.  I went fossil and crystal hunting, walked through the gaping pits left by bauxite mining and biked all over the place with my friend Muta.

On Saturday a few of us visited the incredible YS Falls on the South Coast of the island.  It is a 7-tiered waterfall with large wading pools that are perfect for swimming and rope swinging.  It will be another 6 days before the next team arrives bringing with them my Dad and sister!

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Orchid Roots

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This week we had more rainfall making everything more vibrant while turning the local playfield into a spongy mess.  That didn’t stop the Jamaicans from having an intense and entertaining game of bare foot soccer.  Wow, are they good!

On Saturday morning we left early for Ocho Rios on the north coast of the island for a two night stay on the beach.  The clear blue water, white sand and warm sun felt great but I missed the wonderful people of Harmons.  There won’t be a team here for two weeks and I’m actually looking forward to it.  I will have more time to deepen the relationships I have made in the small community of Harmons.

 

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It rained a lot this week for being the dry season in Jamaica and everyone in Harmons was thankful for some extra water collected off their tin roofs.  I have an entirely new appreciation for rain after spending last semester in Arizona but for some reason the rain this week smelt a little sweeter and looked a little more beautiful than usual.

It was a busy week at the Harmony House with a group of 61 college students from Missouri.  They absolutely loved the freshly roasted coffee and ordered over 100 pounds of it to take home!  I’m learning a lot about coffee and the roasting process but what I like the most is that delicious smell!

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This week went by in the blink of an eye!  I had the opportunity to explore more of the island by visiting the city of Mandeville, the closest place to get groceries and supplies, as well as a black sand beach on the south coast.  The water was warm and the shore was littered with shells of every color.

Yesterday I did all my laundry by hand, as that is the only option.  It only took me 2 ½  hours plus letting them dry on the line!  I had some wonderful Jamaican women teaching me but they just kept laughing and rewashing clothes I thought were clean! I’m falling more and more in love with this place and it’s people as the days pass.

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