Location: Jamaica
Back to work today. We are still working on Ms. Dimple's little shop. We arrive at her house and surprise! She has now added two more puppies to her family! Pastry has siblings to play with! The 2 new puppies are nameless, so I suggest "Puddin'" and "Punch". Ms. Dimple loves the names, and decides that's the way it's going to be. However, throughout the rest of the day, she can never remember "Punch" and keeps calling him "Champagne." Close enough.
We are painting the shop today - which requires climbing up on a step ladder. Anne, another member of the group, and I decide to take turns climbing up on the ladder - to give each other a break from the sun. A photo of Anne is below. While we were up on the ladder, several men would come walking down the street, and then stop, in shock, to watch us. Several of them exclaimed, "A woman on a ladder???!!!!" One said, "You'd never find a Jamaican woman on a ladder!" Apparently, we were becoming a sight-seeing attraction, as more and more Jamaicans came down the street to see the rare sight of a woman on a ladder. And white women, at that. Who knew.
We finished up all of our work around 4:00 pm - Ms. Dimples is overjoyed. I get cleaned up and come back over for a photo of the two of us.
Dinner involved a walk down the street to a restaurant, "The Supreme." Imagine 19 white people walking single file down the street - we were literally a parade. One woman asked us as we walked by, "Did you all decide to go for a walk at the same time?" Apparently, we did.
Dinner was a 2-hour affair. 30 minutes to get a menu. 30 minutes to get our orders. And another 30 minutes to get our food. Remember - we're in Jamaica, mon. No problem, mon. Time has no meaning while in Jamaica. After now accepting the fact that I just can't handle the spiciness of jerk chicken, I settle for chicken fried rice. I love the irony of eating Chinese food while in Jamaica. My chicken fried rice was listed for $500 on the menu. Prices are always a shock - you forget for a second you have to divide everything by 80 - to get the "true" U.S. dollar rate. I drink Ting. I haven't mentioned before that Jamaica has caused me to become a Ting addict. It's a citrus-based, grapefruit tasting soda pop - reminds me of Fresca. I love Ting. I wish I could buy Ting here in Missouri. Sigh. Guess I'll just have to go back to Jamaica soon and get more Ting.
We parade back down the street, two hours later, our stomachs happier, and our pocketbooks lighter. Life is good in Jamaica.
Irie.
No comments:
Post a Comment