4 MONTHS!

Friends, rodents, quadrupeds.........lend me your ears!

Today is my 4 month mark since arriving in Jamaica on July 1, 2008! And 22 months remaining in my service, should I be lucky enough to make it that far. One day at a time.

Happy belated Halloween to you all. I was a little disappointed that I was unable to carve a pumpkin this year. Every year I carve a pumpkin I am reminded how important it is to not necessarily be young, but to feel young. Carving pumpkins always makes me feel like a kid again. This year I made dinner plans with Kelly, another Volunteer who works out of Lucea, Jamaica. All week it had been threatening to rain, but nothing significant dropped. That all changed the instant I decided to go to Montego Bay to meet up. My dad calls it the "Kolb curse". All hell broke loose, and it began to rain cats and dogs, as they say. We got COMPLETELY drenched, and were forced to change plans. We made it to a nearby Pizza Hut of all places, and made our way to the dining area looking like something the cat brought in. Needless to say, we got some strange looks from the local Jamaicans. Luckily I am used to making an ass out of myself in public, so no harm done. The next challenge was trying to sit through dinner soaking wet with the A/C blasting. I was shivering, and some of my fingers were getting numb. In spite of the situation, we headed back to the bus park early and departed our separate ways for the evening. By the way, the pizza was absolute bliss, and another lasting Halloween memory made!

News on the homefront in Falmouth:
In the early hours one morning last week a dog managed to finagle his way into the yard and apparently ate both our baby chicks, and the momma hen, Henrietta. The papa rooster, Chanticleer, said "screw this shit, I'm outta here" and jumped ship. Smart fella. So the past few days I could hear his call, as it sounds a bit different than the others nearby. I should know, he wakes me up EVERY morning. Today my host mother managed to track him down nearby in an abandoned lot and coax him back with some feed corn. As annoying as he can be, it's good to have my alarm clock back. Welcome home buddy! Now let's find you another pretty lady friend.

Snorkeling Saturday was no good today. The high winds all week along with the rain made visibility a mere 2 feet or so. Instead I worked on my tan, and chatted with an old local fisherman named Wilson who casually smoked his spliff while explaining the different fish he catches in winter compared to summer. Then we just sat quietly together watching the great expanse of sea before us.

My scuba dive trip to Curacao is canceled, unfortunately. I didn't get leave authorized, and the security manager is doing a site visit to my place that week. Bummer, but life goes on. Looking forward to Ivy and Donnie coming down for Christmas and New Years.

My days at the local school are good and bad, depending on the behavior of the kids. It takes a lot of patience and energy, and I am beginning to think my time may be better served here in the form of one-on-one tutoring. The classroom feels more like babysitting than teaching. I met a woman who is getting her tutoring program up and running again in January, and I have dibs to assist her. So things here are constantly in a state of flux. Sorry, I just really wanted to use that word because it sounds cool. But anyways, it's nice to have the freedom to try new things and do other activities as things change. Life is still sweet on the Jamrock. Well, it's Saturday 8:40 pm, and there's a beer at the Hub up the road with my name on it. So here we part until next time...


"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky."
-Buddha

p.s. there's nothing perfect about mosquitoes. I still despise them.