Haven't posted for a few days, mainly cause I wasn't home. So I didn't have Internet access. Spent three days last week at a training in Orecabesa, St. Mary (on the north coast). The training was for volunteers and counterparts and focused mainly on how to create good presentations that would be useful in the training of trainers (which is a lot of what PC volunteers do).
It was wonderful to get to see people I hadn't seen in months and to meet their counterparts. I made some new connections that may be useful to me at my site, which is always a nice thing. It was also a nice refresher on how to plan and format a training session. Plus the hotel was nice (though the mosquitoes were *big* and apparently immune to deet as my face and hands got eaten up in the night (everything else was covered by sheets)). It was on the beach, and had excellent food. So overall it was a nice three days away from my usual duties.
Yesterday I spent the day relaxing for the most part. Did a little bit of shopping in the afternoon. Finally got around to buying some flatware. I had one fork, two spoons, and a few butter knifes. I found a cute little set on sale. Now if I have guests over we don't have to wash the fork between uses (I had a few plastic forks. So I'd never actually had to wash the fork between uses, but it could of happened.). I also bought a few little things to pretty up my little flat (a cute glass votive candle holder and an little aromatherapy burner that was on sale). Sales are wonderful things.
I also treated myself to Chinese for lunch yesterday. There's a place in my area that makes a great sweet and sour chicken. While eating I had fun people watching. One really interesting thing I noticed was a Jamaican couple sitting near me. They spent a good portion of the meal chatting in rapid fire Spanish. It was one of those little things that makes you realize how multicultural our world is.
Today I haven't done much of anything. I managed to get my taxes done finally though. So that was an achievement. Chatted with my dad for a bit, and made potato pancakes for lunch. It's been a nice, quiet day.
Haven't really seen any fools today. Just threw that in the title because today's April Fool's Day, and it made for nice alliteration. :)
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Catching the Rhythm
If there is one thing I've learned in the six plus months that I've been on island is that rhythm is a huge part of life here. Music pumps out of speakers at high volume, the bass turned up enough that you can feel it to your bones.
The speech of Jamaicans is also highly influenced by rhythm. Listening to the chatter of Jamaican patois (or Jamaican creole) is a music unto itself. Movement and body language also play a huge part in expression here.
So "catching the rhythm" is a vital part of blending into the culture. The way you walk, talk, and act shows how much you are willing to learn about the culture you are living in. When I attempt to "chat patois" I may get a lot of laughs, but I also get a lot of respect for trying.
There have been a number of times lately that a person has assumed I was Jamaican (at least until I said something--then my American accent gives me away). Of course there are still plenty of times where I'm called "whitey" (a term for foreigners usually) as I walk down the street. But I don't mind it too much. After all it is the truth (I'm white and foreign). :)
Returning to rhythm...
Today I had the joy of attending the Manchester Red Cross Association's first Drum Vibes event. It was basically a concert with a drum group and band from another parish, a local drama group, a saxaphonist, and a few local dignitaries. I went with some other volunteers (and saw a few of my Jamaican friends there). It was a blast. The drummers were amazing. They performed many songs from Jamaica's cultural history and often took turns dancing during their perfomances. All the performers were great, and they all had us dancing, clapping and having a good time. It was definately a good day. Made better by the fact that my internet connection is back up and working (it went down yesterday morning). So I get to update my blog. :)
The speech of Jamaicans is also highly influenced by rhythm. Listening to the chatter of Jamaican patois (or Jamaican creole) is a music unto itself. Movement and body language also play a huge part in expression here.
So "catching the rhythm" is a vital part of blending into the culture. The way you walk, talk, and act shows how much you are willing to learn about the culture you are living in. When I attempt to "chat patois" I may get a lot of laughs, but I also get a lot of respect for trying.
There have been a number of times lately that a person has assumed I was Jamaican (at least until I said something--then my American accent gives me away). Of course there are still plenty of times where I'm called "whitey" (a term for foreigners usually) as I walk down the street. But I don't mind it too much. After all it is the truth (I'm white and foreign). :)
Returning to rhythm...
Today I had the joy of attending the Manchester Red Cross Association's first Drum Vibes event. It was basically a concert with a drum group and band from another parish, a local drama group, a saxaphonist, and a few local dignitaries. I went with some other volunteers (and saw a few of my Jamaican friends there). It was a blast. The drummers were amazing. They performed many songs from Jamaica's cultural history and often took turns dancing during their perfomances. All the performers were great, and they all had us dancing, clapping and having a good time. It was definately a good day. Made better by the fact that my internet connection is back up and working (it went down yesterday morning). So I get to update my blog. :)
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