Jamaica!

As previously mentioned, during July 16-24 I was privileged to be in Jamaica with my parents and two younger siblings. We did a four-day VBS, and Dad preached in some evening services.


Amber teaches the Bible lesson

On our first day we had 64 kids. The crowd grew and on our last day we had almost 200! Anyone who has done children's services in inner-city Cincinnati may know a taste of what we experienced; though I've never had the opportunity to work with 200 Cincinnati kids!

One thing we discovered while we were there was how well kids will listen to another kid give a presentation. Amber (10) taught the Bible lesson one morning, and I was amazed at how immediately there came a genuine hush over the other children, and they really listened! Amber was somewhat soft-spoken and she didn't have a microphone, but that didn't matter because those kids' ears and attentions were glued. And she did a wonderful job delivering the lesson. This was the first time for either my younger brother or sister to be outside of the USA.



We lodged with a local family in the heart of the country, deep inland among beautiful, low, bamboo and banana tree-covered mountains. The trek to the church from where we stayed takes only five minutes, and the road overlooks what is known as Yankee Valley. At night as one looks out over the valley one can see the lights of dozens of Jamaican bush homes, as collectively they form lighted trails tracing around and through the foothills (too bad I couldn't capture that on our camara; it was gorgeous).

Staying with a local family also afforded us the opportunity to learn a little about some Jamaicans' everyday lives. Most village families grow produce: yams, bananas, plaintains, mangos, coconuts, ginger, and/or just about any other tropical fruit or vegetable you could think of. Four things I tried for the first time on this trip were: breadfruit (roasted and fried, served with sardines), sugarcane (freshly chopped pieces to chew on), sugarsop (which I fell in love with; I think now it's my favorite fruit as far as flavor goes), and soursop (more sour than sugarsop (duh :-) but still very good).


Getting some "real" cultural experience, transporting yams through the garden.

Perhaps we'll return to Jamaica. In fact, Mom and Dad are seriously considering returning as summer missionaries.

Home again - or not

This post is just to say that, after spending two days in Paris, trying to get on a plane, flying standby, I returned safely home yesterday. But now I'm leaving with my family to spend a week in Jamaica!...

Restonica

On Friday afternoon Anna drove me to Corte, the main inland town of the island, set on a big rock with its ancient fortress and its church overlooking the merging of several mountainous vallies, and therefore surrounded by very high mountains. Politically dominated by the independantist party, Corte is also home to the University of Corsica, and one can see many graffitis on the walls about "resistance" against French "occupation."

She treated me to a Corsican specialty for lunch - wild boar, cooked in its very strong and tasty juice, which actually turned out to be an excellent preparation for meeting up afterwards with Antoine for hiking. We climbed (first with the car) through one of the famous vallies, the Restonica, starting right at the exit of Corte, on a narrow, steep, and curvy road, boarded by a bright green stream, which made natural pools here and there, and transformed steadily into a deep striking precipice. It was beautiful; plus the sun was just beginning to sink in the sky, making the hike cool and refreshing.

- Okay, I need to give Antoine credit and thanks for the lending of his excellent writing skills for those last two, very descriptive paragraphs :-) - Now for a few pictures.



(For some reason Anna wanted to take this picture of a girl we ran into.)



For the return trip, Antoine took me on his motorbike. We took a back road that winded through the mountains and lovely, undisturbed Corsican countryside. I found it interesting to observe the contrast in land within a one-hour drive. Once we descended from the forested mountains, we drove through smaller, mountainish hills that were covered with desert-like vegetation. Then just a little farther and we came to the sea. We stopped for a break at the quiant little sea town of Saint Florence. When we arrived back in Bastia, the sun was almost set and the sea calm and beautiful.



The huge crane in the left of this picture sort of ruins the effect, but you get the general idea. Actually, there is more to be said about this crane. It has been erected for the construction of a new parking garage, right next to Anna and Antoine's apartment building. Consequently, from time to time it looms directly over their terrace. The problem is that it doubles as a favorite roost for a group of pigeon-like birds... need I continue?

Bonifacio

On Tuesday Anna, Aurelien and I drove three hours to the southernmost tip of the island, to Bonifacio. It has a large bay with a harbor where vacationers bring their sailboats and yachts, to enjoy beautiful blue Mediterranean waters by day and fancy French restaurants by night. We rented a room of very convenient location, and after we had enjoyed our own dinner at the port, settled down for the night. The next morning (Wednesday), we went on a boat ride. Because the winds were particularly boistrous, once we got out of the bay we encountered some good-sized waves, which added to the fun!

Sometimes the boat tossed so much that we were bouncing off our seats; but this little twirp, safe and snug in his stroller, slept through the whole thing!

Bonifacio is famous for its "cliff cities," pictured here. Pretty cool, eh?

The white rock is called Calcaire; I think it's pretty.

Later we ate lunch at another of the French cafès, after which we did some shopping.

More pics