Extreme of extremes week

My second week in Jamaica has been all over the place; it has been one of those weeks with a series of events that counter-balances prior ones. Here goes the explanation.

Our week started with more rain; like 8 days straight. Terrible because driving becomes dangerous and there is NOTHING to do (besides long Monopoly nights in our apartments). We tried to remain positive about the weather but we were getting a little sad about it.

Despite the heavy rain, Tuesday was the most rewarding day of my time in Jamaica (so far). I was a guest speaker in Aditi’s and Emily’s Entrepreneurship and Venture Creation class. I have to admit that I was very nervous about lecturing; I’ve never taught anything in my life! I put my best effort in having a meaningful, interesting and fun marketing lecture but I was unsure if I was able to pull it off. I started 30-minute lecture asking students to participate in the class discussion; and they did! My lecture lasted pretty much the entire class time (about 90 mins), the students laughed at my jokes (pheew) and we all had a good time. The most rewarding moment came after I was done lecturing when I opened the floor for questions. The first question was: “Are you going to come again?” That question meant the world to me! I tried to not show a whole lot of emotion (gotta keep it professional, right?) and just responded that I only had that subject to cover but that I would periodically visit the class and that I would made myself available to help them on their Business Plan. That night I treated myself to a nice drink and went to bed with a huge smile; I felt that I made a difference… even if it was only for 90 minutes.

But then something needed to happen to balance everything, right? The next morning was my first day at my full-time job at Jamaica Youth Business Trust (JYBT) and I was very excited to start helping young entrepreneurs. The moment I walked in the office I was asked by the office manager “What are you doing here?” I instantly knew what that meant – they were not prepared for my visit. I responded “Well, today is supposed to be my first day consulting. Do you know if I have any appointments for today?” By then I had figured I had nothing lined up, but I wanted to understand why no one had bothered to notify the entrepreneurs that I was going to be having consulting sessions. After I waited for 25 minutes I found out that because of the rain no one worked during the prior two days and no appointments were scheduled. I was pretty frustrated but I tried to not show it so I went home and took the day off. Later that day I got an e-mail informing me that I had 6 scheduled appointments for the next day.

So, this brings me to Thursday. Consulting 5 entrepreneurs (one didn’t show up) was pretty humbling. All these entrepreneurs are so young and have accomplished a lot despite of their limited resources and education. I consulted a lady who rears pigs for living (by far, the most difficult appointment I had), a lady who is trying to start an upscale meat shop, a sweet pepper farmer, the owner of a Cyber Café and a cell phone repair man. These entrepreneurs are a lot more business savvy than I anticipated. I gave them some marketing ideas to explore and some of them got really excited about them; but I think I also learned a lot from them. Sometime next week I will be visiting some of these businesses to learn more from them.

The weather took a drastic change (for the better) as of Thursday.  We were hopping for a big weekend and we kept our fingers crossed hoping for a dry weekend. It was great to see and enjoy a blue sky, enjoy the pool at our building and plan some weekend trips.

Friday came around and, as I expected, I didn’t have any appointments scheduled. The good news is that I had a meeting with the director of JYBT and we agreed that I would be conducting a Marketing workshop in the next couple of weeks. I will be busy even if I don’t have any consulting appointments. 

On Friday eve we were at the right place at the right time. After class Aditi, Emily and I decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner and then go out for a few drinks… it was going to be out first big night out! We ran into our benefactors who were going into the restaurant next to the one we had chosen. They invited us to join them and we met some of their friends. We had a great time and got an invitation to join them on Sunday in a boat ride… yeah, we accepted! After dinner we went out for a few drinks; we met with a couch surfing friend of mine, we had a few drinks and we called it a night. Food coma and a few drinks sent us to bed early… plus, we didn’t want to miss our real Jamaican experience on Saturday morning: The Downtown Market.

Downton Kingston Market

Shauna, our apartment housekeeper, took us to a local produce market to experience real Kingston and to save some $$$ in our weekly grocery trip. Now, I’ve been to a few produce markets in Perú and I expected to feel somewhat comfortable in that environment. Turns out that I have become more Americanized that I thought; I was a little scared at the beginning. That market is located in one of the poorest places of Kingston; we saw people wearing raggy clothing that barely stayed together, we saw a lot of garbage all over the market and we smelled a few things that were not nice. But, after looking hard enough I also found people that work hard to get ahead; people that try to do the best with the cards that were dealt to them; people that are choosing to work instead of being street beggars or do less honorable things. After all, the market was not that bad and after a bit it turned out to be a fun experience. I wonder what other things we would see different if we made a point of looking really hard. Yeah, I lost 1,000 Jamaican Dollars (my own fault) and yes, some men made comments about how good-looking my peers are (which is true!) but overall it was a great experience.

Strawberry Hill - Kingston, Jamaica

So, to counterbalance our real Kingston experience we decided to treat ourselves to a relaxing afternoon. We went to a resort called Strawberry Hills located in the Blue Mountains; about 45 minutes away from our home. The drive was beautiful but a bit scary, lanes are super narrow and we constantly had to make an effort to avoid the many potholes in the middle of the road. We spent the entire afternoon there and we (and by we I mean I) enjoyed a few rum-based adult beverages. Life was good! And today, we went on that boat trip to Lime Cay (a small island about 3-4 miles away from the coast) I don’t want to brag much about it but it was S.W.E.E.T, the water is clear blue and the sand is white. We were definitely privileged to receive such an awesome invitation.

Lime Cay. Jamaica

On the way back to our apartments I mentioned to one of my peers that I felt a little guilty about having such an amazing weekend. We came here as volunteers and not as tourists. None of the people from JYBT, the downtown market or UWI could afford going to these places. I’m not against enjoying what the country has to offer, but I need to make sure that I don’t lose focus about what my job is here and what my responsibilities are. I guess is not bad to treat ourselves as long as we don’t lose sight about our full-time jobs here in Kingston.

Anyway, I know this was a long one…but that tends to happen when you blog once a week.