Archives for October, 2010

Jamaica: September 22 – October 4 Field Trips

A bit of a delayed update for everyone! We'll start with our trip to the Appleton Rum Factory and YS Falls on the September 22. When we first walked onto the Appleton Estate, we were greeted by an interesting odor. It smelled like the fresh field of manure, to put it politely. Our tour started out with an educational video about the factory and its history. The tour continued to the other parts of the factory, including the warehouses where the rum is aged. We tried many new things during the tour, such as sugar cane juice and a mixture of molasses and brown sugar used to make rum. We found out how much of a cultural piece Appleton played in the history of Jamaica.

September 28, 2010: Jamaica Weather (AKA) Tropical Storm Nicole

We got word from the U.S. Embassy in Kingston that we were to prepare for a tropical storm.  (Tropical Storm Nicole)  We were expecting mostly rain, according to the initial reports, but we were in for so much more.  Jamaica received the largest amount of rainfall in the area, which was 22 inches, in just a few days.  The surprising part for all of us was the high winds; we were not expecting these.  While we had downpours of rain for several days in our area, some people in other areas of the island woke up to fallen trees, damaged homes and buildings, horrible mud slides, etc.  Flooding ensued, some roads were wiped out, others partially blocked, and the clean up began.  People all across the island were without power for several days, and Mandeville, where we are all living, was no exception.