Here in Jamaica, this means something may happen, sometime in the near to far future, maybe. This applies to the cable company coming to hook my cable up. Finally, they have promised to be here Thursday from 12-5 pm. Let’s hope. I don’t mind the slower pace of life here, and I don’t miss TV so much, but no reliable Internet/Skype is disconcerting.

The past two days at work have been great. I have done some editing, brainstorming and lots of researching. I attended my first weekly staff meeting, which began with a rousing prayer. I also signed the tripartite agreement between myself, YOU and Cuso, which means everything is official now. In a month, I must come up with a work plan that details, well, my plans for work. Having been a freelancer for several years now, it is a refreshing change to be part of a team, with a boss and coworkers and a common goal. Being a reporter is such an independent career, which I enjoy, but it can be lonely.

Today, we had a group of students from West Carolina University visit the YOU offices to get a sense of what we do. Mrs. Scott did a presentation and introduced all the staff. We served them traditional Jamaican snacks like tamarind, coconut drops, cheese and bun and plantain and sweet potato chips. Yummy! During this part of the presentation, two young boys in their khaki school uniforms named Kashief and Tyrese performed a dub poetry piece. It is hard to describe, but the passion and conviction they exhibited brought tears to my eyes.

We then took an extensive tour of several impoverished neighbourhoods, an opportunity most visitors to Kingston do not have. I feel conflicted about these tours- sometimes it feels like we are intruding, but sometimes the residents are delighted to welcome us. In any case, it is always fascinating to see the different environments in which people live. Finally, we ended the day at a community centre where some youth did a drumming demonstration for us. It was amazing, especially when it turned into a jam session with the American students. 

I will end this post with a dilemma: Mr. Fraser, one of the three security guards at my building, who is very kind, is insisting I join him to do some exercises on the beach before sunrise. We usually talk before I go for a run early in the morning and I guess he wants to help me train…hmmmm, not sure what to say but I think I will stick with my runs in Emancipation Park.