Week 13: Jammin by the River
I’m at the airport in Montego Bay right now about to get on a plane to go to San Diego! I am very nervous and excited at the same time. My flight schedule goes from Jamaica -> Florida ->San Diego->Denver (Colorado) -> Toronto ->Jamaica for the next two weeks. I decided to stop by San Diego to see my Aunt on my Dad’s side J I have two cousins and a few friends from the Taiwan Tech Trek internship- I’m super excited!
Although I am on my way out- I am really nervous about going back to Canada. I feel as Jamaica is truly becoming a place to call home and I finally found my niche but now I’m leaving. I don’t know if I changed, I don’t know if I will be the same when I go back. I feel different but I don’t at the same time. It’s hard to explain.
Yesterday was one of my favourite nights in Jamaica. One of Zoe’s friends, Nicholas invited us to hear live music by his friend at the Constant Spring Golf Club. His friend’s name is Mannin and he is an entrepreneur but also a reggae singer. I love listening to him sing and he is great to hang out with! He messaged me and asked me what I was up to. He said- It’s Friday the 13th- meaning its time to go to the river! His friends and him started to go to the river to sing music and hold a jam sessions on dates like this. To make the night even more special- it was a full moon! So three of my friends join me and we take the route taxi down to Papine Market where on the way, we see a parade of locals walking down behind a chariot with a Mrs. Claus and Mr. Claus! They were caroling down the street! We get to the meeting place and end up splitting up into different cars of Mannin’s friends. They drive us down the road and we end up at Gordon Town, at the Hope River. If it was any other person I most likely would not have gone because I had no clue what we were getting into! I loved it though and I am so happy I went! Mannin takes us down the trail and we’re walking over a plank of wood to cross the river and jumping over rocks in the dark. Finally, we get to the spot where you can hear a waterfall. We cross over and I fall in the river because the current is so strong. At this point, we make a line and pass over our items (food, guitar, drums, etc.) and help each other to cross. Once everyone found their rock, we sat down and looked around us. It was mystical scenery and I found out that during the day, people go cliff jumping here! People started jamming on their Caribbean drums, guitar and making some beautiful Rastafarian music. It was surreal! My friends and I left early due to other circumstances and managed to take a route taxi all the way down in the middle of nowhere. I love this type of adventure and am excited to have more when I am back.
For now- I am signing off for 2016. I am going to go home for some r and r. I hope you all have a fantastic new year and thank you so much for listening to my adventures for the first half of this internship!
Happy New Year and Happy Holidays!
Tara Chen